SOME  KECOLL£( 


LATE  EDOUAKD  LABOULAYE 
BY  JOHN  BIGELOW 


•iBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
RIVERSIDE 


17 


SOME  RECOLLECTIONS  OF  THE 

LATE  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE 

BY  JOHN  BIG  BLOW 


PRWA  TEL  Y  PRINTED 


DC  3^2.  8 


A  portion  of  these  "Recollections"  was  read  before  the  New 
York  Historical  Society  at  the  Celebration  of  its  Eighty-Fourth 
Anniversary,  November  20,  1888. 


Press  of 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 
New  York 


CONTENTS 


I. 

PAGE 

FIRST  INTERVIEW  WITH  LABOULAYE — His  FIRST 
ARTICLE  ON  THE  AMERICAN  CIVIL  WAR — 
SUPPLANTS  MICHEL  CHEVALIER — PARIS  EN 
AMERIQUE i 

II. 

LABOULAYE  APPOINTED  PROFESSOR  OF  HISTORY 
AND  COMPARATIVE  LEGISLATION  IN  THE 
COLLEGE  OF  FRANCE  —  LECTURES  ON  THE 
CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES— His 
CAREER  AS  A  PROFESSOR  ....  8 

III. 

LABOULAYE'S  PARTIALITY  FOR  THE  POLITICAL 
SYSTEM  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES— A  PILLAR 
OF  THE  FRENCH  ANTI-SLAVERY  SOCIETY — ITS 
ADDRESS  ON  THE  APPEARANCE  OF  PRESIDENT 
LINCOLN'S  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION — 
SPEECH  AT  THE  FUNERAL  OF  WM.  L.  DAYTON,  17 


iv  CONTENTS. 

IV. 

PAGE 

TIRES  OF  EVER  TEACHING  HISTORY  AND  MAKING 
NONE — DISCONTENTED  WITH  THE  TENDENCIES 
OF  THE  EMPIRE — DISCOVERS  THE  HIDING- 
PLACE  OF  DR.  BENJAMIN  FRANKLIN'S  AUTO- 
BIOGRAPHY— WILLIAM  H.  HUNTINGTON'S  AC- 
COUNT OF  ITS  ACQUISITION  ....  24 

V. 

Is  BEGUILED  BY  THE  EMPEROR  INTO  A  SUPPORT 
OF  THE  PLEBISCITE  OF  1870 — His  DEFENCE  OF 
THAT  MEASURE — His  VERSION  OF  THE  BENE- 
DETTI  INCIDENT  AND  HIS  SEMI-OFFICIAL 
DEFENCE  OF  THE  EMPEROR'S  COURSE  IN 
DECLARING  WAR 46 

VI. 

THE  FEELING  IN  FRANCE  TOWARDS  THE  PRUS- 
SIANS, AND  ESPECIALLY  TOWARDS  BISMARCK 
— IMPOSSIBLE  TO  LIVE  PEACEABLY  WITH  THE 
PRUSSIANS  FOR  NEIGHBORS — THE  DEFEAT  AT 
SEDAN 60 

VII. 

LABOULAYE'S  VIEWS  OF  GAMBETTA— OF  OTHER 
DYNASTIC  PRETENDERS — COULD  RECONCILE 
HIMSELF  TO  No  OTHER  THAN  THE  AMERICAN 
CONSTITUTION  FOR  FRANCE — His  CHARACTER 
— LIST  OF  HIS  WRITINGS 72 


First  Interview  with  Laboulaye— His  First  Article  on  the  American 
Civil  War — Supplants  Michel  Chevalier — Paris  en  Amerique. 

WHEN  I  arrived  in  Paris,  in  September,  1861,  W.  L. 
Dayton,  our  minister  at  the  French  court,  H.  S. 
Sanford,  our  minister  to  Belgium,  and  David  Fuller,  the 
colored  messenger  at  the  Paris  consulate,  were  the  only 
loyal  representatives  of  our  government,  so  far  as  I  knew, 
at  the  Continental  courts.  The  diplomatic  agents  of  the 
United  States  under  the  administration  of  President 
Buchanan,  were  mostly  pronounced  Secessionists,  and 
of  those  who  were  not,  none,  I  believe,  were  in  sympathy 
with  the  new  administration.  They  had  also  been  rein- 
forced by  a  considerable  number  of  active  and  plausible 
emissaries  sent  out  months  before  Mr.  Lincoln's  inaugu- 
ration, to  prepare  the  public  mind  of  Europe  to  believe 
that  the  insurgent  States  had  consecrated  themselves  to  a 
holy  cause  ;  that  they  represented  the  true  spirit,  states- 
manship, and  intelligence  of  the  country,  and  that  the 
most  important  industries  of  Europe  were  dependent 

upon 


2  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

upon  the  establishment  of  their  political  independence. 
The  general  distrust  in  Europe  of  the  growing  power  of 
the  United  States  made  her  statesmen  and  press  lend  but 
too  willing  ears  to  these  delusive  tales,  so  that  when  the 
diplomatic  agents  commissioned  by  President  Lincoln 
arrived  in  Europe  in  1861,  the  public  sympathy,  so  far  as 
it  received  expression  at  court,  in  the  press,  in  the  clubs, 
and  in  general  society,  was  very  largely  with  the  insur- 
gents. Even  such  an  unprejudiced  judge  of  the  American 
situation  as  the  late  Mr.  Cobden  had  his  mind  so  unsettled 
by  the  stories  of  the  confederate  agents  that  he  did  not 
hesitate  to  recommend  us  at  that  day  to  concede  to  the 
Confederates  their  independence  rather  than  prolong  the 
struggle  with  them,  believing  it  to  be  the  lesser  of  two 
great  evils. 

It  was  obviously  the  first  and  most  difficult  duty  of 
those  who  were  charged  with  the  representation  of  the 
new  administration,  to  correct  as  fast  as  possible,  through 
the  press  and  otherwise,  the  delusions  into  which 
European  society  had  thus  been  beguiled  in  reference 
to  the  transatlantic  convulsion.  It  was  to  this  task 
I  was  instructed  by  Mr.  Seward,  at  our  last  interview 
before  I  left  the  United  States,  to  particularly  address 
myself. 

On  the  last  Sunday  and  Monday  of  September,  and 
very  shortly  after  I  reached  Paris,  I  read,  in  the  Journal 
des  Debats,  two  elaborate  papers,  written  in  a  spirit  of 
cordial  sympathy  with  the  North,  and,  what  surprised  me 
more,  with  a  singularly  correct  appreciation  of  the  mat- 
ters at  issue  between  the  two  antagonized  sections  of  our 
Union.  They  were  signed  ' '  E.  Laboulaye,  de  Vlnstilut. ' ' 

Knowing 


HJS  APPEARANCE.  3 

Knowing  already  something  of  M.  Laboulaye  as  a  writer 
on  jurisprudence,  as  a  professor  in  the  College  of  France, 
and  lecturer  on  the  constitutional  history  of  the  United 
States,  I  recognized  at  once  the  value  of  his  alliance  and 
lost  no  time  in  addressing  him  a  note  acknowledging  my 
country's  obligations  to  him  for  what  he  had  written,  and 
begging  him  to  allow  me  an  opportunity  of  waiting  upon 
him  to  pay  my  respects  in  person.  By  return  of  post  I 
received  from  him  a  very  cordial  note,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  said  he  would  "be  happy  to  serve  in  any 
way  a  cause  which  is  the  cause  of  liberty  and  justice," 
and  added  : 

' '  It  will  be  very  agreeable  to  me  to  make  your  ac- 
quaintance, and  to  enter  into  such  relations  with  you  as 
I  formerly  enjoyed  with  the  regretted  Mr.  R.  Walsh.  I 
am  residing  at  present  in  the  country,  but  shall  return  to 
Paris  the  2oth  October.  If  it  should  please  you  to  come 
to  see  me  on  Thursday,  between  one  and  five  o'clock, 
you  will  always  be  sure  to  find  me. 

"In  any  event,  on  my  arrival  in  town  I  shall  have  the 
honor  to  inform  you  by  making  the  first  visit,  for  I  owe 
you  thanks,"  etc. 

Soon  after  his  return  we  exchanged  visits.  When  I 
called  I  was  conducted  into  one  of  a  suite  of  spacious 
rooms,  crowded  with  books  and  numerous  tables  groan- 
ing under  all  the  apparatus  and  teeming  with  the  con- 
fusion of  active  and  prolific  authorship.  The  walls  were 
decorated  sparely  with  curious  and  rare  engravings.  I 
found  in  Mr.  Laboulaye,  who  presently  entered,  a  gentle- 
man of  apparently  middle  age — he  was  then,  in  fact,  in 
his  fiftieth  year — with  a  fine,  compact  figure,  about  five 

feet 


EDOUAKD  LABOULA  YE. 

t  inches  high,  of  pleasing  address,  and  altogether 
Booking  man.  He  wore  no  beard,  nor  had 
be  much  «rf«ein«i  for  the  razor;  he  had  the  rich  olive 
Ttr«|fi».Ml«i  which  prevails  among  the  Latin  race;  his 
voice  was  gentle  and  low,  though  clear  and  admirably 
1;  his  hair,  thin  and  brown,  was  brushed 


smoothly  to  the  head,  which,  with  his  black  frock-coat 
buttoned  close  to  the  rhin — I  never  saw  him  dressed 
otherwise  except  at  dinner — gave  him  a  slightly  clerical 


Before  we  separated  I  managed  to  come  to  a  perfect 
understanding  with  him  in  regard  to  oar  American  affairs, 
and  from  that  time  forth  his  pen  and  his  influence  were 
always  at  oar  service,  and  that  too  without  any  fee  or 
pfomise  of  reward  other  than  that  which  he  might  hope 
to  realize  from  the  triumph  of  institutions  which  for  near 
taeatf  years  he  had  been  annually  commending  to  the 
;i  "n . '_:  c-  ~  "*  ~  r .  ~ . 

The  article  which  thus  brought  me  into  personal  rela- 
tion* with  M.  Labonlaye  was,  an  elaborate  review  of 
Gasparin's  "I/Amerique  devant  1'Europe."  I  felt  the 
more  giatdul  to  him  for  the  brave  and  imposing  tone 
of  this  paper,  because  it  mailed  a  most  important  change 
in  the  coarse  of  the  most  influential  journal  then  pub- 
lished in  France.  The  Debate  had  been  vacillating  on 
the  American,  question,  with  a  tendency  to  accept  Michel 
Chevalier,  an  ardent  imperialist,  as  its  guide,  and  to  give 
prominence  to  aspects  of  our  controversy  calculated  to 
the  prejudices  of  European  states  against  the 
t  Washington. 


Partly  to  secure  the  circulation  of  M.  Laboulaye's  paper 


M.  GASPARIN.  5 

in  some  quarters,  both  within  and  outside  of  France 
where  the  D6bats  was  not  frequently  seen,  but  more  to 
encourage  him  to  persist  in  supporting  the  cause  he  had 
shown  an  inclination  to  espouse,  I  asked  his  permission 
to  reprint  it  in  a  pamphlet.  "  I  am  completely  at  your 
disposal,"  he  promptly  replied.  "  I  shall  be  charmed  to 
serve  a  cause  which  is  the  cause  of  all  the  friends  of  lib- 
erty." The  articles  in  question  were  designed  to  give  a 
popular  expression  and  currency  to  the  three  proposi- 
tions which  M.  Gasparin  had  sought  to  establish  in  his 
book. 

First — That  the  desire  of  perpetuating  and  propagat- 
ing slavery,  and  of  making  it  the  corner-stone  of  a 
new  public  policy,  was  the  true  cause  of  the  revolt  of  the 
South. 

Second — That,  constitutionally,  the  South  had  no  right 
to  separate  from  the  Union.  It  could  not  offer  in  de- 
fense of  this  extreme  measure  any  right  violated  or  men- 
aced. 

Third — That  the  commercial  interests  of  France  coun- 
sel neutrality  on  her  part  as  the  promptest  and  surest 
means  at  her  disposal  for  ending  a  desolating  and  frat- 
ricidal war.  The  political  interests  of  France  required 
her  to  remain  faithful  to  the  grand  traditions  of  Louis 
XVI.  and  of  Napoleon.  The  unity  and  independence  of 
the  United  States — that  is  say,  of  the  only  maritime 
power  which  can  balance  that  of  Great  Britain — is  for 
Europe  the  only  guaranty  of  the  freedom  of  the  seas  and 
of  the  world. 

In  a  few  days  M.  L,aboulaye  forwarded  to  me  the  re- 
vised copy  of  his  articles,  enriched  by  important  addi- 
tions 


O  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

tions  to  the  text  and  an  instructive  introduction,  and  for 
its  epigraph  the  following  prophetic  language  of  the 
First  Napoleon  on  signing  the  treaty  of  1803,  which 
doubled  the  territorial  area  of  the  United  States  : 

"To  emancipate  the  world  from  the  commercial  tyran- 
ny of  England,  it  is  necessary  to  give  her  for  a  counter- 
poise a  maritime  power  that  shall  become  her  rival.  Such 
are  the  United  States.  The  English  aspire  to  dispose  of 
the  wealth  of  the  world.  I  can  be  useful  to  the  universe 
if  I  can  prevent  their  ruling  America  as  they  rule  Asia. 
.  .  .  In  ceding  Louisiana,  I  strengthen  forever  the 
power  of  the  United  States,  and  give  to  England  a  rival 
upon  the  sea,  which  sooner  or  later  shall  abase  her  pride. ' ' 

This  pamphlet,  when  printed,  was  sent  to  the  two  hun- 
dred members  of  the  Institute,  to  most  of  the  Paris  bar, 
to  the  diplomatic  representatives  residing  at  Paris,  and 
most  of  the  prominent  statesmen  and  journals  of  Europe. 
The  effect  of  it  was  far  greater  than  I  had  ventured  to 
anticipate.  It  was  the  most  thorough,  comprehensive,  and 
dispassionate  statement  of  the  real  issue  between  the 
North  and  the  South,  and  of  the  bearings  of  our  struggle 
upon  continental  Europe  from  a  perfectly  disinterested 
source  that  had  reached  the  parties  it  was  most  important 
to  undeceive.  It  led  them  to  study  the  other  side  of  the 
American  question,  and  to  frequent  the  resorts  of  loyal 
Americans.  Friends  of  the  Union  multiplied,  and  those 
who  had  been  discouraged  and  silent  before,  were  now 
emboldened  to  come  forward  and  confess  their  sympathy 

and 


PARIS  EN  AMERIQUE.  7 

and  their  hopes.  Even  the  Dbbats  was  so  strengthened 
by  the  response  its  course  received  that  it  never  faltered 
again  in  its  defence  of  the  Union  cause,  nor  did  M. 
Chevalier  ever  appear  again  in  the  columns  of  that  jour- 
nal as  a  writer  on  the  domestic  troubles  of  our  people. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  M.  Laboulaye  brought  me 
an  advance  copy  of  his  Paris  en  Am&rique,  which  was  to 
appear  the  following  week.  This  book  was  a  remarkable 
literary  and  financial  success,  and  was  happily  the  means 
of  making  extensively  known  to  the  American  people, 
by  whom  it  was  immediately  translated  and  widely  read, 
one  of  their  most  efficient  and  timely  benefactors. 

Though  it  betrayed  about  as  much  ignorance  as  knowl- 
edge of  social  life  in  the  United  States — the  author  never 
crossed  the  Atlantic — it  nevertheless  abounded  in  so  much 
just  and  sound  criticism  of  many  French  ideas,  habits, 
and  institutions  ;  it  showed  such  a  lively  appreciation  of 
much  that  was  and  more  that  ought  to  have  been  charac- 
teristic of  American  life,  and  withal  was  animated 
throughout  with  so  much  wit  and  amiable  satire,  that  of 
all  the  publications  emanating  from  European  sources 
during  our  war,  none  had  more  effect  than  this,  in  weak- 
ening the  prejudice  against  the  "Yankee,"  which  pre- 
vailed among  what  it  was  the  fashion  to  call  "  the  better 
classes  in  Europe." ' 

1  Referring  to  this  book,  a  copy  ' '  I  have  had  leisure  to  look  into 
of  which  I  sent  him,  Mr.  Seward,  Dr.  LeTebre's  dream,  and  am  La- 
in an  unofficial  note,  wrote  :  finitely  pleased  with  its  humor  as 

well  as  its  spirit." 


II. 


Jyaboulaye  Appointed  Professor  of  History  and  Comparative  I/egis- 
lation  In  the  College  of  France— lectures  on  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States— His  Career  as  a  Professor. 

LET  me  here  recall  some  of  the  circumstances  which 
conspired  to  make  M.  Laboulaye  such  an  earnest  and 
effective  champion  of  American  Republicanism.  Shortly 
after  the  Revolution  of  July,  and  on  the  I2th  of  March, 
1831,  three  new  lectureships  were  founded  in  the  College 
of  France,  one  of  Archaeology,  for  the  young  Champollion, 
one  of  Political  Economy,  for  J.  B.  Say,  and  a  third  of  Gen- 
eral and  Philosophical  History  of  Comparative  Legisla- 
tion, for  Eugene  Lerminier.  Lerminier  was  not  a  success 
in  this  chair,  as  all  know  who  chanced  to  look  through 
his  lectures,  which  appeared  in  a  small  volume  some  fifty 
years  ago.  He  was  neither  a  philosopher  nor  a  histo- 
rian, nor  a  jurisprudent,  though  he  pretended  to  be  all 
three,  and  his  lectures  consisted  of  a  series  of  vague  and 
declamatory  generalities,  from  which  nothing  could  be 
extracted  of  real  value  by  the  most  patient  student. 

During 


FIRST  LECTURE.  9 

During  the  Revolution  of  1848,  Lerminier  resigned  his 
chair,  in  which,  by  the  way,  he  had  been  represented 
for  some  years  by  a  suppliant,  and  Laboulaye  was  desig- 
nated as  his  successor  by  the  unanimous  vote  of  the 
College  of  France,  and  of  the  Academy  of  Moral  and 
Political  Sciences.  The  new  professor  was  then  but 
thirty-eight  years  of  age,  but  he  was  well  equipped  as 
to  scholarship,  and  the  eminence  of  the  bodies  to  which 
he  owed  his  selection,  was  of  itself  evidence  of  no 
mean  reputation  already  established.  Indeed,  before 
his  appointment,  he  had  been  three  times  crowned 
by  the  Institute,  of  which  illustrious  society  he  became 
a  member  as  early  as  1845.  Laboulaye  gave  his  first 
lecture  in  his  new  chair  on  the  5th  of  May,  1849.  But  two 
months  remained  before  the  vacation.  He  devoted  them 
to  outlining  the  philosophy  of  law  as  he  understood  it, 
and  showing  the  necessity  of  seeking  in  history  the 
rationale  of  a  nation's  laws  and  institutions.  He  was 
a  strong  partisan  and  champion  of  the  historic  school 
of  Savigny. 

The  manner  in  which  a  man  makes  his  d&but  in  a 
new  profession  is  always  characteristic  and  significant. 
It  is  interesting  therefore  to  glance  over  the  few  intro- 
ductory paragraphs  of  his  first  discourse  from  the  profes- 
sorial chair.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  a  year  had  not 
elapsed  since  Louis  Philippe  had  abandoned  his  throne  and 
taken  refuge  in  a  foreign  land ;  the  provisional  government 
which  succeeded  had  proved  unsuccessful,  and  Louis  Na- 
poleon had  been  already  five  months  President  of  France. 

"  In  taking  this  chair,  to  which  the  excessive  amia- 
bility of  the  gentlemen  who  are  the  honor  of  this  institu- 
tion 


10  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

tion  and  the  glory  of  French  science  has  called  me,  I  feel 
how  great  and  delicate  is  the  task,  and  how  much,  even 
before  I  have  merited  it,  I  have  need  of  all  your  indulgence. 

"  A  stranger  to  the  functions  of  a  teacher,  without  the 
habit  of  public  speaking,  past  the  time  of  life  when  the 
facility  of  speech  is  acquired,  I  must  discuss  before  you  a 
subject  doubly  difficult — the  History  and  the  Philosophy 
of  Legislation. 

"  On  the  one  hand,  the  doctrine  is  quite  new  and 
almost  unknown  in  France  which  undertakes  to  with- 
draw legislation  from  the  region  of  metaphysics,  where  it 
has  been  too  long  astray,  to  make  of  it  a  positive  science, 
the  output  of  experience  rather  than  of  ratiocination. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  a  doctrine  to  which  our  pres- 
ent situation  gives  an  altogether  exceptional  gravity,  and 
which,  however  prudent  the  master,  must  encounter  num- 
berless difficulties,  for  it  is  impossible  that  this  doctrine 
should  not  transform  itself  into  a  rule  of  action. 

"  In  effect,  gentlemen,  the  questions  which  for  a  year 
past  have  shaken  Europe  to  her  secular  foundations,  the 
questions  which  have  so  recently  torn  up  the  pavements 
of  our  ensanguined  streets  and  still  rumble  under  our  feet 
like  a  subterranean  fire  :  The  sovereignty  of  the  people  ; 
the  distribution  of  political  powers  ;  the  popular  liberties, 
and,  going  down  still  deeper,  the  right  to  property  ;  the 
right  to  labor,  industry  and  pauperism  ;  all  these  politi- 
cal, or,  as  they  call  them  nowadays,  social  questions,  and 
which  I  could  multiply  to  infinity,  what  are  they  but  the 
external  problem  of  all  legislation  under  new  names.  At 
the  same  time,  what  else  is  the  necessary  and  exclusive 
object  of  this  teaching  ? 

"  Take 


HISTORICAL  EMPIRICISM.  II 

"Take  laws  apparently  the  most  simple,  those  which 
for  centuries  the  sanction  of  experience  and  universal 
respect  have  lifted  above  all  debate. 

"  Ask  by  what  right  the  lender  receives  from  the  bor- 
rower more  than  he  has  given  him. 

"  Ask  why  society  transmits  and  guarantees  to  the  son 
the  heritage  of  the  father.  And  as  soon  as  you  begin  to 
question  you  will  see  opening  before  you,  in  every  direc- 
tion, perspectives  of  infinite  extent.  In  approaching  the 
most  insignificant  question  of  private  law  you  will  en- 
counter the  most  difficult  problems  of  political  economy, 
of  philosophy,  and  of  history.  On  the  very  surface,  even 
at  your  feet,  you  will  touch  questions  which  reach  to  the 
very  foundations  of  society,  and  as  soon  as  you  rise  above 
mere  usage  or  custom,  and  begin  to  look  into  the  history 
and  the  philosophy  of  laws,  you  will  perceive  that  what 
is  called  "  legislation  "  is  nothing  but  politics. 

"  What  should  be  done  in  such  a  case  ?  Close  our  eyes 
before  unexpected  light  ?  Accept  facts  without  disquiet- 
ing ourselves  about  the  reason  of  them  ?  Reduce  science 
to  endless  statistics  ?  Presume  to  compare  the  laws  of 
different  people  without  assuring  ourselves  of  a  legitimate 
and  common  measure?  in  fine,  judge  them  not  by  a  rule 
approved  by  the  reason,  but  by  their  contingent  and  vari- 
able effects,  and  with  an  appreciation  which  passion  will 
always  interpret  d.  son  gr&  ? 

"  Gentlemen,  such  empiricism,  a  study  so  truncated, 
would  be  unworthy  of  you  and  of  me.  I  shall  never  per- 
mit myself  to  forget  that  I  have  the  distinguished  honor 
of  addressing  the  intellect  of  France,  men  who,  to-mor- 
row, as  citizens,  as  magistrates,  as  legislators,  perhaps, 

will 


12  EDOUARD  LABOVLAYE. 

will  have  great  weight  in  determining  the  destinies  of  our 
country,  of  a  country  which  no  longer  recognizes  any 
sovereign  but  opinion,  which,  of  course,  does  not  mean 
the  sovereignty  of  passion  or  error,  but  of  justice  and 
reason. 

"  Cost  what  it  may,  it  is  upon  this  still-smoking  soil  we 
must  advance.  Our  end  is  truth ;  we  must  march  through 
these  ruins  of  yesterday  without  terror  of  the  burning 
ashes  grinding  under  our  feet. 

"  This  enigma,  which  for  sixty  years  the  Sphinx  of 
Revolutions  has  been  putting  to  Burope,  it  is  now  our 
turn  to  meet  and  solve,  if  we  wish  to  arrest  the  genera- 
tions which  follow  us  on  the  brink  of  the  abysses  in 
which,  every  fifteen  years,  are  periodically  swallowed  up 
the  greatness  and  wealth  of  France  and  its  most  noble 
and  generous  blood. 

"  To  become  masters  of  our  destinies,  to  conquer  this 
durable  peace,  this  confidence  in  the  future,  this  secu- 
rity without  which  a  country  no  more  belongs  to  itself 
than  an  individual,  there  is,  gentlemen,  only  one  means  : 
that  is,  to  found,  or  rather  to  re-establish,  on  its  true 
foundations,  the  science  of  legislation — social  science  par 
excellence.  It  is  to  assure  ourselves  by  study  and  experi- 
ence of  the  solidity  of  the  principles  on  which  society 
reposes  ;  it  is  to  yield  an  enlightened  obedience  ;  it  is  to 
replace  habit  and  fault  by  reason. 

"Tradition,  worship  of  the  past,  love  of  ancient  cus- 
toms, these  virtues  of  other  days  which  Europe  has  for 
so  many  centuries  exalted  as  the  basis  of  social  order, 
have  disappeared  with  the  old  monarchy.  Since  1786  it 
is  not  from  France  we  must  ask  for  that  enlightened 

respect 


FRANCE  SINCE   1786.  13 

respect  for  the  past,  which,  instead  of  obstructing  reform 
assures  it,  by  modifying  and  controlling  it ;  a  country 
where  revolutions,  accumulating  ruins  upon  ruins,  have 
always  had  for  their  object  to  make  a  tabula  rasa,  and  to 
break  with  the  past.  It  is  not  on  tradition  ;  it  is  on 
science,  and  science  alone,  that  society  must  repose. 
Every  institution  that  is  not  made  legitimate  by  its  actual 
justice,  by  its  present  or  prospective  utility  is  a  dead  in- 
stitution. Whatever  be  the  majesty  of  the  associations 
which  protect  it,  its  past  will  not  defend  it  for  a  single 
day." 

In  opening  his  winter  course,  in  December,  1849,  ^a- 
boulaye  proceeded  to  apply  the  principles  which  in  the 
spring  he  had  outlined  to  his  pupils,  by  an  analysis  of  the 
history  and  principles  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  There  was  already  some  talk  of  revising  the 
French  constitution  of  1848,  which  was  generally  con- 
ceded to  be  defective  and  unsatisfactory.  Laboulaye 
wished  the  American  constitution  taken  for  a  model,  and 
this  motive  no  doubt  determined  him  in  making  that 
instrument  the  theme  of  his  course.  De  Tocqueville's 
book,  then  only  about  ten  years  old,  had  produced  a  pro- 
found impression  on  the  educated  classes  in  France,  but 
he  had  confined  himself  to  the  domain  of  generalities. 
It  remained  for  some  one  to  make  an  analysis  of  our  con- 
stitutional system,  and  to  study  the  operation  of  its 
several  provisions  in  detail.  Laboulaye  thought  the  time 
for  such  a  study  of  practical  politics  had  arrived,  and  that 
he  was  the  man  to  deal  with  it.  He  resolved  to  devote 
the  winter  of  1849  to  this  subject.  He  discovered,  how- 
ever, before  the  season  was  over,  that  France  was  not  ripe 

for 


14  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

for  such  doctrine ;  that  Bonapartism,  just  restored,  was 
not  in  sympathy  with  it ;  that  the  United  States  were  too 
far  off,  and,  perhaps,  that  the  liberty  enjoyed  in  America 
cost  more  than  it  seemed  to  his  countrymen  to  be  worth. 
Whatever  the  reason,  the  course  was  discontinued  with 
the  season,  and  for  the  succeeding  twelve  years  he  devoted 
himself  almost  exclusively  to  the  illustration  of  the  his- 
tory of  Roman  jurisprudence.  He  did  resume  his  lectures 
on  the  American  Constitution,  however,  in  1862,  and  in 
the  course  of  that  and  the  succeeding  year  completed  the 
course,  which  was  subsequently  printed,  and  which  may 
be  found  now  in  many  languages  and  in  almost  any  well 
selected  statesman's  library.1 


1  On  the  26th  of  January,  1863, 
I  invited  the  late  Richard  Hoe, 
a  name  now  almost  as  indissol- 
ubly  associated  with  the  art  of 
printing  as  that  of  Guttenberg, 
to  accompany  me  to  hear  one  of 
M.  I,aboulaye's  lectures  at  the 
College  of  France.  It  chanced 
that  the  subject  of  his  discourse 
was  that  period  of  our  colonial 
history  which  embraced  "  the 
old  French  war."  His  room 
was  full  without  being  crowded. 
His  manner  at  a  lecture  was 
dignified  without  being  austere 
or  airy,  which  is  more  than  can 
be  said  of  some  of  the  professors 
of  note  in  the  Latin  Quarter. 
He  spoke  with  unfaltering  flu- 
ency, as  if  thoroughly  imbued 
with  his  subject,  while  his 


humor,  which  was  refined,  fre- 
quently wreathed  the  features 
of  his  audience  in  smiles.  He 
was  occasionally  interrupted 
with  mild  applause.  I  re- 
member that  he  gave  us  an 
opportunity  of  observing  how 
differently  the  history  of  one's 
own  country  sounds  when  ex- 
pounded by  a  foreigner,  espe- 
cially if  the  national  prejudices 
of  the  parties  are  involved.  He 
said,  in  the  course  of  his  re- 
marks, that  in  consequence  of 
firing  upon  and  killing  M. 
Cr£ve-Coeur,  Washington  was 
obliged  to  sign  a  most  humiliat- 
ing capitulation  to  the  French 
commander,  after  having  been 
sorely  beaten,  "a  fact,"  said  M. 
I+aboulaye,  "which  has  always 
proved 


ROBERT  HOE. 


15 


While  lecturing  on  the  American  Constitution,  Labou- 
laye  delivered  a  concurrent  course  on  the  "  Politics  of 
Aristotle,"  and  another  on  the  "Criminal  Procedure  of 
England."  Of  the  former  not  a  trace  has  been  found 
among  his  MSS.  This  is  a  loss  greatly  to  be  regretted, 
for  he  had  expended  much  thought  and  study  upon  it, 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  he  expected  it  to  survive 
him.  Perhaps  there  is  no  occasion  yet  to  despair  of  its 
ultimate  recovery.  During  the  seven  succeeding  years 
to  1871,  Laboulaye  took  for  the  subjects  of  his  lectures, 
"The  History  of  French  Legislation  and  Administration 
Under  the  Reign  of  Louis  XVI.,"  and  the  "Esprit  des 
Lois  of  Montesquieu." 

The  first  of  these  courses  was  reported  in  the  Revue  des 


proved  a  thorn  in  the  side  of 
American  historians." 

At  the  close  of  his  lecture  he 
observed  to  his  audience  that  he 
had  been  requested,  in  common 
with  all  the  faculties  of  the  sev- 
eral institutions  of  learning  in 
Paris,  to  invite  his  audience  to 
contribute  towards  the  relief  of 
the  poor  who  had  suffered  from 
extraordinary  floods  in  some  of 
the  southern  departments.  The 
papers  of  the  morning  had  pre- 
pared us  for  this  collection,  and 
we  had  provided  ourselves  with 
checks,  which  we  handed  to 
him  before  leaving.  The  amount 
of  our  contributions  surprised 
him.  How  much  Mr.  Hoe's  was 
I  do  not  know,  though  I  need 
not  say  to  those  who  knew  the 


strength  of  his  sympathies  and 
the  fervor  of  his  patriotism,  that 
they  would  have  been  esteemed 
liberal  anywhere,  and  must 
have  seemed  lavish  in  a  com- 
munity where  contributions  of 
ten  francs  from  a  princess  of  the 
blood  imperial  was  considered 
worthy  of  a  separate  announce- 
ment in  the  Moniteur.  On  the 
following  morning  each  of  us 
received  a  note  of  most  cordial 
thanks  from  the  professor,  in 
which  he  gave  us  to  understand 
that  it  was  through  our  generos- 
ity that  his  collection  had  proved 
a  success, — "a  new  reason,"  he 
added  in  his  note  to  me,  for 
loving  Americans  and  America, 
which  I  regard  as  a  second 
country." 

Cours 


l6  EDOUARD  LABOULA  YE. 

Cours  at  the  time,  and  I  understand  will  be  soon  repub- 
lished.  Of  the  second,  nothing  remains  but  what  the 
lecturer  incorporated  into  his  notes  to  an  edition  of 
Montesquieu's  works,  published  in  1875-1879. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1871,  and  of  the  Franco-Ger- 
man war,  I,aboulaye  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  French 
Parliament.  His  new  duties  compelled  him  to  suspend 
his  lessons  at  the  College  of  France,  which  he  did  not 
resume  until  December,  1877.  He  then  commenced  a 
course  on  Constitutional  Law,  but  his  health  compelled 
him  to  suspend  them  in  1879.  He  resumed  his  chair  in 
1 88 1,  but  only  for  a  brief  period.  His  last  lecture  was 
delivered  on  the  15th  of  May,  1882,  and  he  died  on  the 
25th  of  May,  1883,  in  the  seventy-third  year  of  his  age. 


III. 

I^aboulaye's  Partiality  for  the  Political  System  of  the  United 
States— A  Pillar  of  the  French  Anti-Slavery  Society— Its  Ad- 
dress on  the  Appearance  of  President  lyincoln's  Emancipation 
Proclamation— Speech  at  the  Funeral  of  Wm.  I,.  Dayton. 

MR.  IvABOULAYE'S  value  as  a  friend  of  the  Union, 
and  of  representative  government  was  not  long  in 
being  recognized  in  the  United  States.  The  press  pro- 
claimed his  sympathetic  utterances  wherever  the  Federal 
mails  could  carry  them  ;  the  Union  League  Club,  of  New 
York,  ordered  his  portrait  by  Fagnani,  which  now  adorns 
its  walls,  a  bronze  bust  of  him  was  placed  in  the  Union 
League  Club  in  Philadelphia,  and  at  the  close .  of  our 
war,  his  name  was  more  widely  and  more  generally 
known  in  the  United  States  than  in  Europe.  At  the 
funeral  of  our  minister,  Mr.  Dayton,  in  1865,  I  invited 
him  to  be  present  and  address  a  few  words  to  the  mourn- 
ing assembly — an  office  which  he  executed  with  great 
delicacy  and  feeling.1  From  that  time  forth  until  his 
death  he  was  a  feature  of  pretty  much  every  solemn 

1  His  discourse  on  this  occa-       as  a  part  of  the  history  of  the 
sion  is  entitled  to  be  preserved       Civil  War,  even  if  it  were  not  an 

assemblage 


i8 


EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 


assemblage  of  our  country  people,  in  which  foreigners 
participated.  He  was  also  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
organization  of  a  French  anti-slavery  society  in  1865 — a 
society  designed  to  concentrate  the  anti-slavery  sentiment 
of  the  French  people  against  the  Imperial  government, 
which  had  been  detected  intriguing  with  the  Confeder- 
ates, in  behalf  of  the  dynasty  it  was  trying  to  impose  upon 
Mexico.  Guizot,  De  Broglie,  Cochin,  Montalembert,  and, 
I  think,  St.  Hilaire,  were  associated  in  the  scheme.  Its 
active  life,  I  believe,  terminated  with  our  war. 

affecting  and  impressive  tribute       £te  moins  fidele  a  cette  alliance ; 
to  the  memory  of  an  eminent 
public  servant. 


Remarks  oj  Mr.  Laboulaye  at 
the  funeral  of  Hon.  Wm.  L. 
Dayton,  at  the  American  Chapel 
in  fart's,  1864  : 

Je  cede  a  1'invitation  de  1'hon- 
orable  M.  Bigelow  il  est  bon 
qu'une  voix  francaise  et  amie 
rende  un  dernier  homage  a  un 
homme  qui  laisse  en  France  les 
plus  honorables  souvenirs  et  les 
plus  sincdres  regrets. 

Messieurs,  il  y  a  bient6t  cent 
ans  que,  au  milieu  d'une  crise 
terrible,  1*  Amerique  et  la  France 
se  sont  liees  d'une  amitie  irrevo- 
cable. II  y  a  eu  quelquefois  des 
nuages  entre  les  gouvernements, 
il  n'y  en  a  jamais  eu  entre  les 
penples .  Pour  un  concitoyen  de 
I<a  Fayette,  le  compatriote  de 
Washington  ne  sera  jamais  un 
etranger.  I/ Amerique  n'a  pas 


et  pour  1'entretenir  elle  nous 
a  toujours  envoye  comme  min- 
istres  des  politiques  les  plus 
habiles,  et  les  plus  sages.  C'est 
Franklin  qui  a  fond£  et  cimentfi 
cette  amiti$ ;  et  apres  lui  sont 
venus  Jefferson  qui  donnait  des 
si  sages  conseils  a  nos  constitu- 
ants ;  Gouverneur  Morris,  cet 
esprit  si  fin  et  ingenieux ;  Ed- 
ward I/ivingston  le  rfiformateur 
des  lois  penales  qui  figurent 
dignement  sur  cette  liste  de 
noms  glorieux. 

Messieurs,  rappelez  vous  dans 
quelles  circonstances,  M.  Day- 
ton est  venu  en  1861  representer 
les  Ijtats  Unis  pres  de  la  France  ? 
Je  ne  veux  blesser  personne ; 
dans  un  pareil  jour,  en  un  tel 
lieu  il  n'y  a  de  place  que  pour 
1'amitie  et  pour  regrets.  Mais, 
je  puis  dire,  que  le  grand  mal- 
heur  de  la  guerre  civile  c'est 
ft  la  fois  d'affaiblir  un  peuple 
This 


DA  YTON'S  FUNERAL. 


This  body  held  a  meeting  in  February,  1866,  at  which 
the  most  conspicuous  notabilities  of  France  assisted,  to 
take  formal  note  of  President  Lincoln's  proclamation, 
announcing  the  abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States, 
of  which  I  had  sent  a  copy  to  the  president  of  the  society. 
An  address  was  prepared  by  M.  I/aboulaye  in  behalf  of 
that  body,  and  sent  to  me,  to  be  transmitted  to  the  presi- 
dent. Time  has  increased,  rather  than  diminished,  the 
interest  of  the  address,  and  of  the  reply  to  it,  which  in 
due  time  I  received  from  Mr.  Seward. 


an  dedans  et  de  rataoindrir  au 
dehors.  En  pareil  cas,  il  y  a 
pour  tin  ministre  une  inqui£- 
tode,  une  susceptibilite  plus 
grande  que  de  coutume ;  on 
deTend  la  dignity  de  son  pays. 

M.  Dayton  fut  a  la  hauteur  de 
cette  tache  delicate.  Grace  a  sa 
franchise,  &  sa  loyante',  a  sa 
courtoisie, — J'en  appelle  a  1'hon- 
orable  ministre  que  J'apercois 
id,1 — il  sut  maintenir  les  rela- 
tions des  deux  pays  sur  le  meil- 
leur  pied,a  des  conditions  6gales, 
c'est  a  dire  6galement  honora- 
bles  pour  les  deux  pays. 

C'est  la  un  service  rendu  a  la 
France  non  moins  qu  d  I'Amer- 
ique,  et  qui  gardera  dans  1'ave- 
nir  le  nom  de  M.  Dayton. 

Parler  d'avenir  !  J'oublie  que 
je  suis  en  face  de  la  mort,  que 


reste-t-il  de  nous  qu'un  peu  de 
poussi£re  bient6t  eVanouie  ;  un 
souvenir  qui  s'efiace  et  s'eteint 
avec  le  dernier  de  ceux  qui  nous 
ont  aimes.  Et  cependant  pour 
ceux  qui  survivent,  c'est  une 
consolation,  c'est  un  besoin  que 
de  parler  des  me'rites  et  des 
vertus  de  ceux  qu'on  a  perdus. 
Ce  sont  ces  me'rites  qiii  les  ac- 
compagndrent  au  pied  du  tribu- 
nal suprftme,  et  leur  rendront, 
nous  esperons,  1'e'ternelle  mis- 
£ricorde.  Et  heureux  peut  £tre 
celui  qui,  comme  M.  Dayton 
peut  se  presenter  avec  les  ser- 
vices qu'il  a  rendus  d.  la  patrie, 
et  peut  dire  qu'il  a  toujours 
soutenu  la  cause  qu'il  a  cm  (et 
que  je  crois  comme  lui)  la  cause 
de  la  Justice,  de  I'humanite',  et 
de  liberte." 


JMr.  Drouyn    de   Lhuys,    Ministre   des  affaires    €trangeres   of 
Prance. 


20  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

(Translation.} 

PARIS,  January  20,  1866. 

MR.  AMBASSADOR: — The  members  of  the  French 
Emancipation  Society  have  received  with  emotion  and 
sympathy,  the  proclamation  announcing  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  which  you  instructed  me  to  communicate  to 
them. 

In  a  numerous  meeting  assembled  to  consider  the 
future  fate  of  the  freedmen  of  your  country,  I  read  your 
letter.  It  transformed  our  gathering,  in  a  measure,  into 
a  thanksgiving  festival. 

This  century  has  witnessed  the  abolition  of  serfdom  in 
Russia,  and  of  slavery  in  the  United  States.  That  is 
glory  enough  for  it. 

We  entertain  the  hope  that  the  illustrious  successor  of 
Lincoln  and  the  statesmen  and  Christians  of  America 
will  know  how  to  make  citizens  of  those  whom  they  have 
made  freedmen.  The  civilized  world  expects  from  them 
the  success  of  this  grand  experiment. 

We  shall  watch  the  steps  of  its  progress  with  the  most 
untiring  interest ;  and  we  beg  you  to  thank  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  in  the  name  of  our  Committee,  for 
the  measures  which  he  has  heretofore  taken,  and  for  the 
noble  instrument  to  which  his  name  shall  remain  at- 
tached, as  we  thank  you,  Mr.  Ambassador,  for  having 
communicated  it  to  us. 

Please  accept  the  expression  of  our  high  consideration. 
The  President  of  the  Committee, 

The  Secretary,  EDWARD  I/ABOU^AYE. 

A  Cochin.  Member  of  the  French  Institute. 


EM  A  NCI  PA  TION  PROCLA  MA  TION.  2 1 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE,  \ 
WASHINGTON,  March  5,  1866.  / 

SIR  : — Your  despatch  of  the  yth  ultimo,  and  its  accom- 
paniments, relative  to  the  communication  which  Mr. 
Laboulaye,  the  acting  President  of  the  French  Commit- 
tee of  Emancipation,  has  addressed  to  you  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  the  president's  proclamation  announcing  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  United  States,  have  been 
received.  In  reply  to  Mr.  L,aboulaye,  I  will  thank  you  to 
inform  him  that  the  congratulations  of  the  society  upon 
the  auspicious  event  are  gratefully  received  and  highly 
appreciated ;  that  this  government  entertains  no  appre- 
hensions for  the  future  of  a  race  physically  qualified  to 
obtain  for  itself,  by  industry  and  application,  prosperity 
and  happiness,  under  our  free  and  equal  Constitution  of 
government ;  and  therefore  we  feel  assured,  that  this 
desirable  result  will  be  peacefully  and  creditably  accom- 
plished. I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WH,I,IAM  H.  SEWARD. 
John  Bigelow,  Esq.,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  M.  Laboulaye's  sympathy  with 
the  Federalists  in  our  Civil  War  was  largely  due  to  his 
anti-slavery  sentiments,  but  whoever  attributed  it  all  or 
mainly  to  that  source,  would  fall  into  a  great  error.  He 
deprecated  a  failure  of  the  great  republican  experiment 
in  America  more  than  the  perpetuation  of  slavery  for  a 
few  years,  more  or  less,  but  as  it  seemed  to  be  a  question  of 
life  and  death  between  popular  sovereignty  and  slavery, 
he  was  also  uncompromising  in  his  treatment  of  slavery. 

Having  been  appointed  professor  of  Comparative  Legis- 
lation 


22  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE, 

lation  as  early  as  1845,  and  since  then  a  diligent  and 
sympathetic  student  of  the  constitutional  history  and 
polity  of  the  United  States,  he  had  thoroughly  imbued 
himself  with  the  theoretic  principles  of  our  government, 
and  no  American  probably  was  more  utterly  convinced 
than  he,  that  nowhere  in  this  world,  outside  of  the  United 
States,  could  be  found  such  durable  guaranties  to  the 
people,  of  the  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of 
happiness.  He  thought  it,  therefore,  a  matter  of  world- 
wide concern  that  our  republic  should  prove  its  capacity 
to  deal  with  the  enemies  of  its  own  household.  He  was 
one  of  the  very  few  conspicuous  Frenchmen — perhaps, 
beside  M.  de  Tocqueville,  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  a 
third — who  knew  so  nearly  where  the  sovereignty  of  the 
State  properly  terminated,  and  where  the  sovereignty  of 
the  People  began,  and  he  never  ceased  to  deplore  the 
inability  of  his  countrymen  to  recognize  the  limitations 
of  the  powers  of  the  State  as  taught  by  the  fathers  of 
the  republic. 

"God  knows,"  he  says  in  his  preface  to  L'Etat  et  ses 
Limites,  "that  our  ignorance  on  this  subject  has  cost 
us  dear.  When  we  look  back  over  the  long  series  of  our 
revolutions  since  1789  we  find  that  parties,  though  divided 
on  every  thing  else,  are  always  in  accord  on  one  point. 
They  regard  power  and  liberty  as  irreconcilable  enemies. 
With  the  liberals  of  the  old  school  to  weaken  power  was 
to  fortify  liberty.  With  the  partisans  of  order-at-any- 
price,  to  crush  liberty  was  to  fortify  power ;  double  and 
fatal  illusions  yielding  only  anarchy  and  despotism. 
When  authority  is  disarmed  liberty  degenerates  into 
license  and  perishes  by  its  own  excesses. 

"  '  What 


LIMITS  OF  POWER  AND  LIBERTY.  »3 

"  '  What  is  too  feeble  to  oppress,'  says  wisely  Bossuet, 
'  is  powerless  to  protect.'  On  the  contrary,  when  liberty 
is  sacrificed  you  will  have  a  power  which  is  neither  sus- 
tained nor  contained.  .  .  .  We  must  learn  that  au- 
thority and  liberty  are  not  two  hostile  powers  made  to 
devour  each  other  eternally ;  they  are  two  distinct  ele- 
ments making  part  of  one  and  the  same  organism.  Lib- 
erty represents  the  individual  life,  the  state  represents  the 
common  interests  of  society  ;  they  are  two  circles  of  ac- 
tion which  have  neither  the  same  centre  nor  the  same 
circumference.  They  touch  at  more  than  one  point,  but 
they  should  never  be  confounded." 

It  is  not  surprising  that  the  professor  of  such  doctrines 
and  the  writer  who  displaced  Chevalier  in  the  D&bats  re- 
ceived no  official  recognition  from  the  imperial  govern- 
ment. He  was  several  times  put  in  nomination  for  the 
Corps  Legislatif,  but  the  government  was  always  strong 
enough  and  foolish  enough  to  defeat  him.  He  once 
showed  me  a  silver  inkstand  presented  to  him  by  his 
political  admirers  at  Strasbourg,  who  in  a  note  proclaimed 
him  their  perpetual  candidate  for  the  Corps  Ivegislatif. 


IV. 


Tires  of  ever  Teaching  History  and  Making  None— Discontented 
with  the  Tendencies  of  the  Empire — Discovers  the  Hiding- 
Place  of  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin's  Autobiography— William  H. 
Huntington's  Account  of  its  Acquisition. 

'""THE  frequent  disappointment  of  his  hopes  of  political 
1  advancement  preyed  upon  I/aboulaye's  spirits  more 
than  he  was  willing  to  confess.  He  thought  he  was  too 
much  of  a  philosopher  to  esteem  any  political  power  or 
distinction  necessary  to  his  happiness,  but  in  this  he  de- 
ceived himself,  as  many  others  had  done  before  him  and 
many  more  have  done  and  will  continue  to  do  after  him. 
He  saw  men  in  ever  so  many  ways  his  inferiors  occupying 
positions  of  influence  ;  their  speeches  quoted ;  their  ante- 
chambers thronged,  and  their  sentiments  discussed  in 
cabinets  and  in  the  press,  while  his  career  was  threatened 
with  sterility,  for  in  France  a  professor's  chair  is  com- 
monly coveted  as  a  stepping-stone  rather  than  as  a  finality. 
He  did  not  see  that  literature  and  science  had  any  more 
rewards  for  him,  and  he  could  not  reconcile  himself  to 

the 


FRA  NKLIN  'S  A  UTOBIOGRA  PHY.  2$ 

the  idea  of  living  and  dying  only  a  professor  ;  of  always 
teaching  history  and  never  making  any.  How  profound- 
ly this  apprehension  disturbed  him,  he  unconsciously 
betrayed  in  a  letter  written  to  me  in  October,  1868. 

To  make  the  introductory  portion  of  this  letter  more 
intelligible,  and  this  record  of  our  obligations  to  M.  I^a- 
boulaye  more  complete,  it  is  proper  that  I  should  say 
here  that  it  was  to  him  that  I  was  indebted  mainly  for 
the  discovery  and  repatriation  of  Dr.  Franklin's  Auto- 
biography. How  this  happened  is  a  curious  chapter  in 
the  history  of  a  remarkable  book.1 

Mr.  Laboulaye  was  my  guest  one  day  at  dinner  in  Paris 
in  the  summer  of  1866.  He  had  just  translated  and  pub- 
lished a  compendious  selection  from  the  writings  of 
Franklin,  and  as  he  had  amiably  sent  me  a  copy,  it  nat- 
urally became  one  of  the  topics  of  our  conversation.  In 
the  course  of  the  entertainment  I  asked  my  guests,  who, 
as  far  as  I  remember,  were  all  French  gentlemen  of  let- 
ters, if  they  had  ever  heard,  or  if  they  had  any  reason  to 
suspect,  that  the  original  manuscript  of  Franklin's  "Au- 
tobiography "  was  in  France.  All  answered  in  the  nega- 
tive. I  then  assigned  some  reasons  for  thinking  that, 
unless  it  had  been  destroyed,  which  was  in  the  highest 
degree  improbable,  it  was  somewhere  within  the  limits 
of  the  empire. 

1  The  statement  which  follows  lin ,  published  in  1887-1888,  but  as 

was  transferred  to,  and  made  a  only  600  copies  of  that  work  were 

part  of,  the  introduction  to  the  printed,  I  need  offer  no  apology 

Autobiography      of      Franklin  for  retaining  it  in  this  chronicle, 

which   appeared    in    Bigelow's  for  which  it  was  originally  pre- 

edition  of  the  works  of  Frank-  pared. 

ISt. 


26  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

ist.  I  said  I  had  received  the  impression,  some  years 
previous,  from  the  late  Henry  Stevens,  a  professional 
book  collector  in  London,  that  he  had  seen  the  MS.  in 
the  hands  of  a  gentleman  residing  in  France.  I  had  an 
indistinct  impression  that  he  said  Amiens,  and  that  he 
had  only  been  discouraged  from  buying  it  by  the  price. 

2d.  Romilly  (Sir  Samuel)  in  his  diary  speaks  of  having 
looked  through  the  "  Autobiography  of  Franklin  "  at  the 
house  of  a  friend  whom  he  was  visiting  in  Paris  in  1802.' 

3d.  If,  as  this  record  authorized  the  belief,  the  original 
MS.  was  ever  in  France,  there  was  every  reason  to  pre- 
sume it  was  there  still. 

4th.  It  was  in  the  highest  degree  improbable  that  a 
MS.  of  that  character  could  be  in  the  United  States,  with- 
out its  lodging-place  being  a  matter  of  common  notoriety, 
whereas  none  of  Franklin's  numerous  biographers  pro- 
fess to  have  had  any  trace  of  it  after  the  death  of  Wm. 
Temple  Franklin  in  1823. 

5th.  As  Wm.  Temple  Franklin  embarked  for  Europe 
within  a  few  weeks  after  the  death  of  his  grandfather, 
whose  papers  he  inherited,  and  never  returned  to  the 
United  States,  the  presumptions  were  that  this  MS.  was 
in  Europe,  and  that  it  was  not  in  the  United  States. 

M.  Laboulaye  seemed  struck  by  the  force  of  these  con- 
siderations ;  said  he  had  a  friend  at  Amiens  who  would 
be  sure  to  know  if  any  literary  treasure  of  that  nature 
was  concealed  in  the  neighborhood  ;  and  if  in  France, 
whether  at  Amiens  or  not,  he  felt  confident  of  being  able  to 
ascertain  through  some  of  his  friends  in  the  Academy ;  and 
he  very  kindly  volunteered  to  look  into  the  matter  at  once. 

1 "  lyife  of  Romilly."  vol.  i.,  p.  408. 

Weeks 


FRANKLIN'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  27 

Weeks  and  months  rolled  on,  but  I  heard  nothing  fur- 
ther of  the  MS. 

When  about  leaving  for  England  on  my  way  to  the 
United  States,  in  the  winter  of  1866-7,  an^  after  sending 
my  family  and  personal  baggage  to  the  railway  station, 
I  set  out  in  a  cab  to  make  two  or  three  farewell  calls 
upon  some  friends  whose  residences  were  not  much  off 
of  my  route  to  the  station.  Among  them  was  Mr.  Labou- 
laye,  whom  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  find  at  home. 
During  our  half-hour's  interview  I  asked  him  if  he  had 
ever  thought  to  make  any  inquiries  about  the  "  Autobi- 
ography." He  replied  that  he  had,  but  that  his  friend 
upon  whom  he  specially  relied  had  not  been  able  to 
throw  any  light  upon  the  subject.  He  added,  how- 
ever, that  he  meant  to  institute  some  further  inquiries 
among  his  confreres  of  the  Academy,  and  if,  as  cer- 
tainly seemed  probable,  it  was  in  France,  he  said  he 
did  not  despair  of  finding  it.  I  thanked  him,  gave  him 
my  London  and  New  York  addresses,  and  went  on  my 
way. 

I  had  spent  nearly  a  month  in  London,  was  about  to  sail 
in  a  few  days  for  the  United  States,  and  had  quite  aban- 
doned all  expectation  of  hearing  any  thing  from  the  "  Au- 
tobiography," when,  on  the  igth  of  January,  a  letter  from 
M.  Laboulaye  was  handed  me  by  the  postman,  which  in- 
formed me  not  only  that  the  habitat  of  the  MS.  had  been 
discovered,  but  that  it,  with  several  other  precious  relics 
of  our  illustrious  countryman,  could  be  bought  for  a 
price,  a  large  price  it  is  true,  but  a  price  which  did  not 
seem  beyond  their  value  to  an  American.  M.  Labou- 
laye's  letter  ran  as  follows  : 


28  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

12  Janvier,  1867,  34  RUE  TAITBOUT. 

CHER  MONSIEUR  BIGELOW  : 

Eureka  !  J'ai  trouv£,  grdce  a  un  ami,  le  manuscrit  de 
Franklin  et  son  possesseur. 

M.  de  Se"narmont,  he"ritier  de  la  famille  Le  Veillard,  et 
qui  demeure  a  Paris,  rue  de  Varennes,  No.  98,  nous  e"crit 
qu'  il  possede  : 

1.  Le  MS.  originel  autographe  complet  (?)  des  me'moires 
de  Franklin. 

2.  Une  collection  considerable  de  lettres  de  Franklin, 
formant  un  ensemble  de  correspondance. 

3.  Un  portrait  en  pastel  de  Franklin,  donn6  par  lui  a 
M.  Le  Veillard. 

Et  il  demande  en  tout  la  somme  de  vingt  cinq  mille 
francs.  Vous  voici  sur  la  voie.  C'est  a  vous  maintenant 
a  faire  ce  qui  vous  conviendra.  Adieu  recevez  encore 
tous  mes  vceux  pour  votre  bonheur  en  ce  monde  et  dans 
Vautre  (je  parle  du  Nouveau  Monde).  Votre  bien 
deVone". 

BD.  LABOULAYE. 


The  next  mail  took  from  me  a  letter  to  my  cherished 
friend,  the  late  William  H.  Huntington,  in  Paris,  enclos- 
ing Laboulaye's  note,  asking  him  to  go  to  No.  98  Rue  de 
Varennes,  and  examine  the  articles  referred  to,  and,  if 
satisfied  of  their  genuineness,  I  authorized  him  to  offer 
fifteen  thousand  francs  for  them.  In  two  or  three  days 
I  received  from  him  the  following  most  characteristic 
letter : 


W.  H.  HUNTINGTON.  29 

21  Janvier,  '67. 
High  private  and  fiducial. 

DEAR  MR.  BIGEI/OW  : 

Yours  of  no  date  whatsoever  reached  me  Saturday,  and 
that  of  Laboulaye,1  the  same  afternoon.  Mr.  L,.  knows 
nothing  more  of  the  MSS.  and  portrait  than  that  he  wrote 
you;  gave  me  letter  of  presentation  to  M.  S£nartnont, 
whom  he  does  not  know,  in  the  which  he  mentioned 
your  name  with  full  titles,  and  addressed  it  78  Rue  de 
Verneuil. 

It  was  late  to  go  there  that  day.  A  "glance  at  the 
map  "  will  show  you  that  it  is  the  £  St.  Germain,  and  so 
I  did  not  go. 

Fytte  Second. 

Sunday. 

After  breakfast  and  "  girding  myself  up  " — (how  much 
easier  one  feels  after  it),  I  took  the  letter  in  my  hand  on 
this  blessed  day  and  got  myself  up  to  the  highest  num- 
ber in  the  Rue  de  Verneuil,  which  I  found,  like  Frank- 
lin's Memoirs,  broken  off  some  time  before  78.  Where- 
upon "  I  fetched  a  compass,"  as  St.  Paul  would  say,  and 
ran  for  Rue  de  Varennes,  where  I  presently  made  No.  98, 
and  hailing  a  concierge,  found  I  had  reached  port  this 
time.  O  such  a  concierge — both  he  and  his  female ! 
reputable,  civil,  in  a  comfortable  room.  While  getting 
up  a  broad,  clean  staircase,  did  hear  bell  ringing  in  the 
court.  By  the  time  I  reached  the  door  au  2me,  a  gentle 
domestic  aperient  was  already  there,  by  whom  my  pas- 
sage through  ante-room  to  dining-room  was  lubricated,  if 

1  A  letter  of  introduction  to  M.  Laboulaye,  which  I  had  sent  him 
by  a  subsequent  post. 


30  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

I  may  so  speak,  and  I  was  eased  of  my  card  and  letter  in 
the  most  soothing  manner.  The  dining-room  was  thor- 
oughly warmed  : — through  the  open  door  into  the  salon  ; 
a  carpet  continuous  with  the  parquet,  and  comfortable 
chairs,  and  other  quietly,  not  newly  rich  furnishing,  and 
still  another  fire,  offered  so  many  peaceful  indications 
that  here  was  not  a  shop  to  buy  things  cheap  in.  M.  de 
S.  presently  appeared  from  up-stairs  (occupy  two  floors, 
then !).  Handsome  (not  pretty)  33  a  37  of  age,  courteous, 
shrewd  I  guess,  but  really  a  gentle-man.  He  said  that 
the  MSS.  were : 

I.  The    original    Autobiography,    with    interlinings, 
erasures,  etc.,  from  which  the  copy  was  made  that  was 
sent  to  W.  T.  Franklin,  and  the  first  French  translation  : 
It  is  in  folio,  bound,  complete. 

II.  I/etters,  mostly,  he  thinks,  to  M.  Veillard,  not  re- 
lating to  politics,  at  least  not  specially  political — friendly 
letters — and  not,  he  thinks,  ever  communicated  to  Mr. 
Sparks  or  other  book-making  person.     The  portrait  is  by 
Duplessis,  and,  according  to  "  a  tradition  in  the  family," 
the  original,  not  the  replica ;  it  was  given  by  B.  F.  to  M. 
Veillard. 

He  had  neither  MSS.  nor  portrait  in  the  house ;  they 
are  at  his  cousin's  (who  is,  as  I  understand,  part  owner 
of  them).  On  Wednesday  I  am  to  go  to  No.  98  Rue  de 
V.  again,  when  he  will  have  them  there  or  will  accom- 
pany me  to  his  cousin  to  see  them.  He  did  reside 
formerly  in  Amiens,  where  he  or  his  father  had  these 
things.  An  American,  he  thinks,  did  come  some  years 
ago  to  see  the  portrait  there  ;  name  of  that  stranger  un. 
known  ;  also  his  quality,  whether  merely  an  inquisitive 

or 


W.  H.  HUNTINGTON.  .  31 

or  an  acquisitive  traveller ;  is  ready  but  not  eager  to  sell 
(if  he  knows  himself)  at  25,000  francs  the  lot ;  does  not 
want  to  sell  any  one  of  the  three  articles  separately. 
Does  not  know  that  they  are  mercantilely  worth  25,000 
francs,  but  intimates  that  he  shall  run  the  risk  of  waiting 
for  or  provoking  the  chance  of  that  price  being  given. 
Has  been  applied  to  by  a  photographer  (this  some  time 
ago)  to  photograph  the  portrait :  declined  proposition  at 
the  time,  but  now  conceives  that  it  might  gratify  curios- 
ity of  Americans  coming  to  Exposition  next  May  to  see 
copies  of  it,  or  the  original  hung  up  there  ! 

I  fancy  that  this  universal  French-Exposition  idea 
stands  more  in  the  way  of  reducing  the  price  than  any 
thing  else.  .  .  . 

Yours  truly, 

W.  H.  HUNTINGTON. 

On  the  24th  of  January,  I  received  a  second  letter 
from  Huntington,  giving  the  results  of  his  first  view  of 
what  he  terms  the  Franklinienacs. 

PARIS  (8  RUE  DE  BOURSAI/T),  23  January,  1867. 
DEAR  MR.  BIGEWW  : 

I  have  seen  the  Frankliniseries  (say  Franklinienacs). 
The  autobiography  is  writ  on  large  foolscap,  bound  very 
simply,  but  without  the  slightest  lesion  of  the  pages. 
This  is  undoubtedly  the  original  manuscript,  with  inter- 
lining, erasures,  marginal  notes,  and  blots  (of  which  one 
smasher,  that  was  smatched  thin  nearly  over  one  whole 
page)  of  B.  F.  of  the  period.  It  is  complete  in  both 
parts.  The  French  publication  of  1791  stops  with  the 

first 


32  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

first  part,  you  recollect — and  more  complete  than  the 
"clean  copy,"  from  which  W.  T.  Franklin  printed  the 
two  parts :  i.  <?.  it  has  several  more  pages  after  the 
arrival  in  London  in  1757,  where  W.  T.  F.'s  print  stops. 
I  should  think  there  are  other  passages  in  this  MS.  omit- 
ted by  W.  T.  F.  or  by  the  writer  of  the  clean  copy.  The 
MS.  closes  with  these  words  :  "  They  were  never  put  in 
execution." 

Of  the  letters  only  two  or  three  are  from  B.  F. — one 
dated  Philadelphia,  1787,  an  other,  ditto,  1788,  16  or  14 
are  from  W.  Temple  Franklin,  2  from  Sarah  Bache,  2 
from  B.  F.  Bache :  all  addressed  to  M.  Veillard.  I  judge, 
from  what  M.  Paul  de  Se"narmont  said,  that  they  do  not 
relate  to  political  subjects.  I  had  not  time  to  read  any 
of  them,  having  to  go  to  M.  George  de  Se"narmont,  the 
cousin,  to  see  the  portrait. 

It  is  nearly  a  half-length,  life-size  pastel,  perfectly  well 
preserved,  under  glass,  not  a  franc  of  additional  value 
from  the  frame.  It  is  not  signed.  A  labelled  black  and 
gilt  statement,  which  is  undoubtedly  true,  is  attached  to 
the  bottom  of  the  frame,  and  reads  nearly  as  follows : 
"  Portrait  de  Benjamin  Franklin,  age  77,  donne  par  lui 
meme  a  M,  Veillard  Peint  par  J.  S.  Duplessis,  1783"  I 
have  no  doubt  of  the  genuineness  of  the  portrait.  M.  S. 
says  that  the  family  tradition  is  that  this  was  the  original, 
and  that  the  other  one,  which  was  in  the  possession  of 
W.  T.  Franklin  (?),  the  replica.  Duplessis  has  a  good 
reputation  as  a  portrait  painter.  The  Biographie  Nou- 
velle  cites,  among  twelve  of  his  most  esteemed  portraits, 
one  of  Franklin  in  the  "  Galerie  Pamard  a  Avignon." 
The  one  that  M.  Edward  Brooks  bought  of  J.  de  Mancy, 

or 


FRANKLIN'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  33 

or  his  heirs,  a  few  years  ago,  was  claimed  to  be  by  Du- 
plessis.  This  was  in  oils — it  was  offered  to  me  by  old  de 
Mancy,  in  1852,  for  2,000  francs.  There  was  a  break  in 
his  history  of  it,  that  led  me  to  suspect  that  it  might  be 
a  copy. 

M.  de  Senarmont  holds  firmly  to  the  fixed  price  of 
25,000  francs  :  agrees  that  it  may  be  an  extravagant  one, 
but  will  not  set  any  other  till  after  the  Exposition.  He 
means  to  advertise  Americans  here  of  the  manuscripts  and 
portrait,  and  where  they  may  be  seen — depositing  them 
for  that  end  with  some  bookseller  or  other  party.  Mean- 
time he  is  quite  willing  to  keep  my  address,  and  in  case 
he  does  not  sell  at  Exposition  season,  to  talk  further  about 
the  matter.  The  manuscripts  and  portrait  are,  as  I  under- 
stand him,  an  undivided  family  property.  .  .  . 

Immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  the  foregoing  I  sent 
Mr.  Huntington  a  check  on  John  Monroe  &  Co.,  in  Paris, 
for  25,000  francs,  and  told  him  to  buy  the  collection  on 
as  favorable  terms  as  possible,  but  not  to  leave  without  it, 
and  when  bought,  to  forward  it  by  first  conveyance  to  Lon- 
don, that  it  might  be  sure  to  reach  me  before  I  sailed. 

To  this  I  received,  on  the  28th,  the  following  letter : 

PARIS  (8  RUE  DE  BOURSAI/T),  27  January,  1867. 
EVER  HONORED : 

My  passage  out  from  apartment  in  search  of  breakfast 
this  morning  was  obstructed  by  the  concierge  handing 
your  letter  of  the  24th.  Yours  of  the  22d,  leaving  all  to 
my  discretion,  I  thought  it  discreetest  not  to  spend  so 
large  a  sum  as  25  m.  frs.  without  positive  orders.  These 
last  instructions  being  decisive,  I  gat  myself; 

Onely 


34  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

Onely,  to  Munroe  &  Co.'s,  where  I  showed  Mr.  Rich- 
ards '  (who  had  his  hat  on)  your  enabling  act  to  them  for 
my  drawing  of  Pactolian  draughts  to  the  amount  of  25 
m.  frs. 

Twoly,  to  I/egoupy,  a  printseller  of  my  acquaintance, 
on  Blvd.  de  la  Madeleine,  to  ask  how  best  the  portrait  of 
B.  F.  could  be  safely  packed,  with  or  without  the  glass. 
"  With,"  quoth  he  decidedly.  Then  I  asked  if  he  would 
charge  himself  with  the  packing,  he  being  much  in  the 
way  of  sending  large  framed  and  glazed  engravings  out 
of  the  city  ;  and  he  said  he  would. 

Threely,  to  the  S.  E.  R.  way  and  package  express 
office,  to  ask  at  what  latest  minute  they  would  receive 
and  forward  packages  to  London,  which  proved  to  be  5 
o'clock  P.M. 

Four  mostly  to  breakfast.  Present  after  that  refection 
and  its  consequence  I  girded  up  my  loins  and  took 
voiture  for  98  Rue  de  Varennes,  where,  coming  into  the 
presence  of  M.  Paul  de  Sdnarmont,  I  spake,  saying  :  "  I 
will  take  the  Franklineaments  and  MSS.  on  these  three 
conditions  :  I.  That  I  take  them  immediately  ;  II.  That 
you  deduct  200  francs  from  the  25,000  frs.  to  pay  my 
expenses  for  going  with  them  to  I/ondon  ;  III.  That  you 
furnish — sending  it  to  me  hereafter  for  Mr.  Bigelow, — the 
history  of  the  transitions  of  the  three  Franklinienacs 
from  M.  Veillard'sto  your  hands." 

All  of  which  being  agreed  to,  I  wrote  then  and  there  an 

order,  draught,  draft,  or  whatever  the  name  of  the  paper 

may  be,  on  J.  M.  &  Co.  for  24,800  francs  in  his  favor  at  3 

days'  vision.     Then  P.  de  S.  and  the  literary  remains  of 

1  The  senior  partner  of  the  firm  of  John  Munroe  &  Co. 

B   F 
x>.  r., 


W.  H.  HUNTINGTON.  35 

B.  F.,  and  self  with  cane,  being  bestowed  in  the  voiture 
(No.  of  the  same  not  preserved),  we  careered  away  to 
cousin  Georges  de  Sdnarmont,  No.  23  Rue  de  Sevres. 
While  Paul  went  in  unto  Georges,  to  the  bedroom  of  him 
— for  Georges  was  poorly,  it  seems,  this  morning,  and 
late  abed ;  leastway,  late  to  breakfast — I  ventured  to 
relieve  B.  F.  from  the  state  of  suspense  he  was  in  on  the 
wall  of  the  salon,  screwed  out  of  his  frame  the  iron  ring, 
and,  in  the  distraction  of  the  moment,  gave  it  to  Cousin 
George's  housekeeper.  That  was  what  B.  F.  calls  an 
erratum,  for  I  have  often  use  for  that  sort  of  screw — which 
the  housekeeper,  let  us  hope,  could  not  care  for.  Re- 
packing, now,  Paul  de  S.,  the  MSS.,  umbrella,  cane,  and 
B.  F.  his  eidolon,  which  I  sustained  ever  with  one  hand, 
into  the  carriage,  I  bade  cocker  drive  to  7  Rue  Scribe, 
where  I  presented  M.  P.  de  S.  to  Mr.  J.  Munroe,  to  whom 
I  committed  your  enabling  note  and  identified  Paul. 
Then  P.  de  S.  wished  good  voyage  to  London,  and  the 
cocker  asked,  as  I  was  delicately  handling  B.  F.'s  portrait 
if  that  was  the  Franklin  who  perished  in  the  Northern 
seas.  Queer  but  disappointing.  Cocker  evidently  took  a 
lively  interest  in  the  frozen  party,  and  but  a  cold,  indif- 
ferent one  in  the  to  him  unheard-of  philosopher.  Now 
straight  to  Legoupy's,  whose  packer  declared  he  could 
have  all  ready  by  4  o'clock.  I  did  not  believe  him,  but 
by  way  of  encouragement  pretended  to,  and  held  out  to 
him  as  reward,  in  case  of  success,  that  I  would  gladly 
contribute  ...  to  the  Washington  Monument,  which, 
let  us  hope,  will  never  be  completed. 

There  was  time  enough  between  this  and  five  o'clock 
to  go  to  the  Legation,  but  small  chance  of  finding  Mr. 

Dix 


36  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

Dix  there.  So  I  went  to  the  consulate  and  offered  David  ! 
to  pay  his  passage  and  expenses  if  he  would  go  with  B. 
F.  to  I/ondon  to-night.  David  would  gladly  but  could 
not ;  had  infrangible  pre-engagements  for  this  evening ;  I 
almost  found  but  missed  another  man,  who  would,  it  was 
thought  take  charge  of  the  box  and  surely  deliver  it 
Sunday,  for  50  francs.  During  these  entre  fails,  four 
o'clock  sounded.  At  %  past,  the  caisse  was  on  the  back 
of  L,egoupy's  boy  following  your  servant  up  the  Boule- 
vard. The  very  best  I  could  do  at  the  R.  and  express 
office  was  to  obtain  the  most  positive  assurance,  that  a 
special  messenger  should  take  the  box  from  Cannon 
Street  to  Cleveland  Square "  before  noon  on  Monday. 
There  is  no  delivery  at  any  price  on  Sunday.  I  was  on 
the  point  of  deciding — what  I  had  been  debating  ever  since 
morning — to  take  a  go  and  return  ticket  and  carry  box 
and  baggage  to  London  myself.  But  you  know  how  I 
hate  travelling  at  all  times.  On  leaving  the  express 
office,  I  passed  a  brief  telegrammatic  sentence  to  your 
address,  through  the  window  of  Grand  Hotel  T.  bureau. 
The  gentleman  who  counted  its  letters  estimated  them  at 
6  francs,  which  is  more,  proportionately,  than  what  you 
paid  for  B.  F.'s  MSS.  and  flattering  to  me.  If  I  am  ever 
able,  I  shall  set  up  a  telegraph  wire,  and  dance  on  to 
fortune.  The  very  click,  click  of  the  machines  has  a 
pleasant  money  promise  to  the  ear. 

Although  my  way  along  the  quais  and  other  marts 
where  books  do  congregate,  are  not  as  they  were  when 

1  The  trusty  messenger  at  the  Consulate  and  now  the  Dean  of  the 
representatives  of  the  U.  S.  in  foreign  parts. 

2  Where  I  was  staying  with  friends. 

you 


FRANKLIN'S  PORTRAIT.  37 

you  were  my  fellow  pilgrim,  yet  are  they  still  not  all  with- 
out pleasantness.  Thus,  coming  away  from  my  annual 
visit  to  the  neuvainefete  of  St.  Geuevieve  three  weeks  ago, 
I  fell  upon  the  rummest  bronze  medallion  of  B.  Franklin 
(hitherto  quite  unheard  of  by  this  subscriber)  that  ever  you 
could  conceive  of.  And  yet  another  day,  one  of  those 
days  lapsed  last  week  from  the  polar  circles  into  the  more 
temperate  society  of  our  Paris  time,  I  clutched  with  numb 
fingers  a  diminutive  little  4to  of  pp.  48  with  this  title :  "La 
Science  du  Bonhomme  Richard  par  M.  Franklin  :  suivie 
des  commandements  de  I'  Honnete  Homme,  par  M.  Fin- 
try— priz  quatre  sols.  Se  vend  a  Paris,  chez  Renault, 
Libraire,  Rue  de  la  Harpe. — 7775."  So  another  day,  was 
all  my  homeward  walk  a  path  of  exceeding  peace  by 
reason  of  the  primary,  pre-adamite,  genuine,  juvenile 
original  Eloge  de  Franklin  hugged  under  my  arm,  like 
healing  in  the  wing.  But  the  half  of  the  enjoyment  of 
these  good  gifts  of  fortune  fails  me,  in  that  I  have  now 
no  one  to  congratulate  me  or  hate  me  for  their  acquisi- 
tion. 

M.  de  Se*narmont  promises  me  a  letter  giving  the  His- 
torique  of  the  triad  of  Franklin  treasures,  from  the  time 
of  M.  de  Veillard  to  his  possession  of  them.  It  will  not 
amount  to  much — not  from  lack  of  willingness  on  his 
part,  but  because  the  special  sense  in  the  case  is  wanting 
in  him.  A  dry,  authenticating  certificate,  however,  I 
will  insist  on  having,  and  will  forward  it  to  your  Ameri- 
can address,  which  do  not  forget  to  advertise  me  of  from 
Liverpool  or  London.  M.  de  S.  asks  me  to  ask  you,  if 
you  have  the  Duplessis  photographed,  to  send  him  two 
or  three  cards  ;  please  add  one  other  or  two  for  me,  since 

you 


38  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

you  will  be  apt  to  send  them  to  my  address.  I  shall  be 
glad  to  have  word  from  you,  though  in  your  flitting  hurry 
it  must  be  brief,  from  London,  and  much  gladder  to  have 
news  from  America  that  you  and  yours  are  all  safely  and 
soundly  arrived  there. 

With  best  regards  and  good  wishes  to  all  your  house,  I 
rest  Yours  truly,  W.  H.  HUNTINGTON. 

Here  followeth  an  account  of  ye  expenditures,  out- 
lays, and  disbursements  of  ye  FRANKI/VN  EXPEDITION. 

FRANCS. 

To  a  chariot  and  ye  horseman  thereof.  Hire  of  the 
vehicle  and  pourboire,  as  it  were  oats  to  the 
driver  for  the  greater  speed  ....  5 

To  packing  B.  Franklin  under  glass  and  ye  MSS. 
with  extra  haste  and  yet  care  .  .  .  9 

To  the  binding  of  B.  F.  on  a  boy  his  back  and  por- 
terage of  the  same I 

To  studiously  brief  telegrammatic  phrase  sent  to 
I/ondon  ........  6 

To  arduous  sperrits  (with  water)  taken  for  susten- 

tation  of  the  body  thys  day  .  .  .  .0.50 

Condamned  tottle      .        .        .21.50 

On  the  day  following  the  receipt  of  the  last  recited  note 
from  Huntington  I  received  the  following  from  M.  de 
Se"narmont : 

PARIS,  27  Janvier,  1867. 
MONSIEUR  : 

J'ai  1'honneur  de  vous  remettre  ci-contre  une  note  de 
tous  les  renseignements  que  j'ai  pu  recueillir  sur  le  manu- 

scrit 


FRANKLIN'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY.  39 

scrit  de  Franklin  dont  M.  Huntington  s'est  rendu  hier 
acquereur  en  votre  nom. 

Je  suis  heureux  de  vous  voir  possesseur  de  ces  precieux 
souvenirs,  et  du  beau  portrait  du  fondateur  de  la  liberte" 
de  votre  patrie. 

La  rapidite  avec  laquelle  j'ai  e"te"  oblige"  de  remettre  le 
portrait  a  M.  Huntington  m'a  emp£che  de  le  faire  repro- 
duire  par  la  photographic  comme  j'en  avais  1'iutention. 
Dans  le  cas  ou  vous  ferez  faire  cette  reproduction  je  vous 
serais  bien  reconnaissant  de  vouloir  bien  m'en  envoyer 
trois  exemplaires. — J'ai  1'honneur  de  vous  temoigner, 
Monsieur,  1'expression  de  ma  plus  haute  consideration. 

P.  DE;  SENARMONT. 

98  Rue  de  Varennes. 

MONSIEUR  JOHN  BIGELOW, 

Ancien  Ministre  des  Etats-Unis. 


Notice  sur  le  manuscrit  autographe  des  mhnoires  de 
Benjamin  Franklin.  Les  manuscrits  de  me'moires  de 
Franklin  est  un  in-folio  de  220  pages  e"crit  a  uni-marge, 
sur  papier  dont  tous  les  cahiers  ne  sont  pas  uniformes. 

M.  Le  Veillard,  gentilhomme  ordinaire  du  Roi,  Maire 
de  Passy,  e"tait  intime  ami  du  Docteur  Franklin.  II  avait 
ve"cu  avec  lui  a  Passy  (pres  Paris)  dans  une  societe"  de 
tous  les  jours,  pendant  le  temps  de  Franklin  en  France  a 
Pe"poque  de  la  guerre  de  l'inde*pendance  Ame'ricaine,  et 
c'est  de  sa  patrie  que  le  docteur  lui  envoya,  comme  gage 
d'amitie,  la  copie  de  ses  me'moires  echange"  depuis  centre 
V  original. 

Le  manuscrit  original  est  unique. 

M.  William  Temple  Franklin,  petit  fils  de  Benjamin 

Franklin, 


40  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

Franklin,  1'a  recueilli  au  d£ces  de  son  aieul  qui  lui  avait 
le"gue"  tous  ses  Merits.  Lorsque  M.  Temple  vient  en 
France  pour  y  faire  l'e"dition  qu'il  a  public,  il  demanda  a 
M.  Le  Veillard  sa  copie  pour  la  faire  imprimer,  parce- 
qu'elle  lui  parut  plus  commode  pour  le  travail  typogra- 
phique,  a  cause  de  sa  uettete".  II  donna  a  M.  Veillard  en 
^change  de  sa  copie,  le  manuscrit  original  entierement 
ecrit  de  la  main  de  Franklin. 

L'original  e"tait  cependant  plus  complet  que  la  copies 
ce  que  M.  Temple  n'avait  pas  ve"rifie".  On  en  trouve  la 
preuve  au  2d  volume  de  la  petite  edition  des  Memoires 
en  2  volumes,  en  i8mo,  donne"e  par  Jules  Renouard,  a 
Paris,  en  1828.  On  y  lit,  en  t£te  d'une  suite  qu'il  fait 
paraitre  pour  la  premiere  fois,  une  note  (page  21),  ou  il 
declare  devoir  cette  suite  a  la  communication  que  la 
famille  Le  Veillard  lui  a  donne"  du  manuscrit. 

^'inspection  seule  en  de'tnontre  1'authenticite  a  1'appui 
de  laquelle  viennent  d'ailleurs  des  preuves  positives 
tiroes  de  differentes  pieces  ;  telles  que  :  3  lettres  du  Dr. 
Franklin  a  M.  Le  Veillard,  n  lettres  de  M.  William 
Temple  Franklin  et  diverses  lettres  de  Benjamin  Frank- 
lin Bache,  de  Sarah  Bache,  sa  femme,  d'un  libraire  qui 
voulait  acquerir  le  manuscrit  de  M.  Le  Veillard  en  1791, 
etc. 

M.  Le  Veillard,  qui  est  1'auteur  de  la  traduction  Fran- 
gaise  des  Mernoires  de  Franklin,  a  conserve"  le  manuscrit 
autographe  avec  le  meme  sentiment  qui  avait  determine 
son  ami  a  lui  envoyer  ses  me'moires  encore  ine"dits. 

Apres  la  mort  de  M.  I,e  Veillard,  quipe"ritsur  1'^chafaud 
Rdvolutionnaire  en  1794,  le  manuscrit  a  passe"  a  sa  fille  : 
au  deces  de  celle-ci,  en  1834,  il  est  devenu  la  propriete  de 

son 


TAMPERINGS  WITH  THE  MS.  41 

son  cousin  M.  de  S£narmont,  dont  le  petit-fils  a  ce'de'  la 
26  Janvier,  1867,  a.  Mr.  John  Bigelow,  ancien  Ministre  des 
Etats-Unis  a.  Paris. 

Le  manuscrit  est  accompagne"  d'un  beau  portrait  en 
pastel  par  Duplessis  :  Franklin  avait  pose"  pour  ce  portrait 
pendant  son  sejour  a  Passy  et  en  avait  fait  cadeau  a  M. 
Le  Veillard. 

P.  de  S^NARMONT. 

PARIS,  le  26  Janvier,  1867. 

Several  months  elapsed  after  my  return  to  the  United 
States  before  a  propitious  occasion  presented  itself  for  me 
to  verify  the  importance  of  the  statement  in  M.  de  Se"nar- 
mont's  note,  that  my  manuscript  was  more  complete  than 
the  copy  which  had  been  used  in  preparing  the  edition 
published  by  William  Temple  Franklin  and  copied  by 
Dr.  Sparks.  It  never  occurred  to  me  that  the  text  had 
been  tampered  with  in  England  after  it  had  left  the 
writer's  hand.  A  very  cursory  examination  of  it,  how- 
ever, awakened  my  suspicions  that  it  had  been,  and  I 
availed  myself  of  my  earliest  leisure  to  subject  the  Mem- 
oirs to  a  careful  collation  with  the  edition  which  appeared 
in  London  in  1817,  and  which  was  the  first  and  only 
edition  that  ever  purported  to  have  been  printed  from 
the  manuscript.  The  results  of  this  collation  revealed 
the  curious  fact  that  more  than  twelve  hundred  separate 
and  distinct  changes  had  been  made  in  the  text,  and, 
what  is  more  remarkable,  that  the  last  eight  pages  of  the 
manuscript  were  omitted  entirely. 

Many  of  these  changes  are  mere  modernizations  of 
style  ;  such  as  would  measure  some  of  the  modifications 

which 


42  ED  GUARD  LABOULAYE. 

which  English  prose  had  undergone  between  the  days  of 
Goldsmith  and  Southey.  Some,  Franklin  might  have 
approved  of  ;  others  he  might  have  tolerated  ;  but  it  is 
safe  to  presume  that  very  many  he  would  have  rejected 
without  ceremony. 

I  immediately  prepared  a  correct  edition  of  the  Auto- 
biography for  the  press,  in  1867,  when,  after  an  interval 
of  more  than  seventy  years  since  its  author's  death,  it  was 
for  the  first  time  given  to  the  public  as  it  was  written. 

Of  course  I  addressed  to  Mr.  Laboulaye  a  copy  of  this 
volume,  of  which  the  first  part  of  the  following  letter  was 
in  acknowledgment  : 


,  VERSAII^ES,  23  Octobre,  1868. 

CHER  MONSIEUR  BIGELOW  : 

Je  vous  dois  mille  remerciments  et  mille  excuses  pour 
les  M£moires  de  Franklin.  II  y  a  six  mois  que,  de  jour 
en  jour,  je  me  propose  de  vous  £crire,  et  le  temps  passe 
sans  que  je  fasse  rien.  Franklin  s'excuse  quelque  part 
desa  negligence,  et  dit  quel'age  rend  paresseux,  veuillez 
recevoir  avec  bont£  cette  mediocre  justification  qui  ne 
peut  avoir  cours  que  dans  la  patrie  de  Franklin. 

J'ai  lu  avec  grand  interest  la  nouvelle  Edition  des 
M^moires,  et  je  vous  suis  fort  oblig6  pour  la  faveur  hon- 
orable dont  vous  me  traitez  dans  la  Preface.  Votre 
texte  sera  le  texte  d^finitif,  et  quoique  les  changements  ne 
soient  pas  considerables  au  fond,  ils  donnent  un  autre 
aspect  au  livre,  car  ce  sont  justcment  les  expressions  les 
plus  originales  et  les  plus  americaines  de  Franklin  qu'un 
maladroit  correcteur  a  effac^es  pour  les  remplacer  par 
ses  platitudes. 

Voici 


THE  REVOL  UTION  IN  SPA  IN.  43 

Voici  la  revolution  arriv£e  en  Espagne  mais  en  France, 
on  se  fait  une  assez  triste  ide"e  de  1'avenir  de  la  pdninsule. 
Personne  ne  plaint  la  Reine  Isabelle,  qui  ne  merite 
aucun  interet,  mais  dans  sa  chute  on  ne  voit  que  le  suc- 
ce"s  d'une  conspiration  militaire.  Le  peuple  est  reste"  in- 
different jusqu'au  lendemain  de  la  victoire,  et  ne  parait 
pas  avoir  grand  de"sir  de  reprendre  possession  de  ses  droits. 
Pour  moi  qui  connais  1'Espagne,  j'ai  grand  peur  que  ce 
changement  de  regne  ne  soit  qu'un  changement  de  per- 
sonnes,  et  que  1' Espagne  ne  continue  a  etre  la  proie  de  ses 
generaux  ambitieux  comme  elle  1'a  tt&  depuis  trente  ans. 

Cette  revolution  a  derange  je  crois,  les  projets  de  1'Em- 
pereur ;  1'Espagne  etait  pour  lui  un  secours  et  une  force. 
Elle  peut  devenir  un  danger.  Aussi  commence-t'-on 
a  proclamer  sur  tous  les  toits  qu'on  veut  maintenir  la 
paix.  La  paix  sera  pour  toute  1'Europe  un  bienfait  mais 
je  ne  sais  si  la  liberte"  en  profitera  beaucoup  chez  nous. 
La  revolution  d'Espagne  n'apas  agite"  beaucoup  1'opinion 
en  France.  Nous  sommes  habitues  a  ces  coups  d'etat  mili- 
taires  chez  nos  voisins  ;  le  pays  est  toujours  fort  endormi 
ou  plutdt  fort  degoute.  On  n'a  pas  la  moindre  confiance 
dans  le  gouvernement  actuel.  On  n'a  qu'une  tr£s  mediocre 
estime  pour  ceux  qui  le  conduisent  mais  a  part  les  gens  qui 
reflechissent,  le  grand  nombre  des  habitants  des  villes  n'a 
pas  confiance  dans  la  liberte ;  les  essais  de  libre  gouverne- 
ment ont  tant  de  fois  echoue  ;  on  a  si  grand  peur  de  1'an- 
archie  qu'au  fond  on  aimeautant  rester  comme  on  est  par 
peur  d'une  plus  mauvaise  situation.  Quant  aux  cam- 
pagnes  elles  sont  toujours  dans  la  main  de  1'administra- 
tion  ;  le  paysan  a  peur  et  votera  pour  le  gouvernement 
presque  en  tous  pays. 

Je 


44  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE, 

Je  ne  crois  done  pas  que  les  prochaines  elections  chang- 
ent  la  situation.  Suivant  toute  apparaiice  ces  elections  se 
feront  avec  autant  de  passion  et  aussi  peu  de  sincerite"  que 
les  autres  ;  le  re"sultat  ne  sera  pas  sensiblement  different ; 
le  gouvernement  aura  la  victoire  a  moius  d'un  change- 
ment  d'opinion  que  je  ne  pre"vois  pas,  mais  cette  victoire 
emportde  par  des  moyens  peu  respectables  ne  lui  donnera 
ni  force  ni  duree".  Depuis  six  ans  il  perd  chaque  jour  de  sa 
puissance  sur  1'esprit  publique  et  sans  que  rien  le  menace 
il  s'afFaiblit.  C'est  un  singulier  spectacle  que  cette  veine 
de  pouvoir  absolu  qui  ce  trouve  toute  puissante  dans  les 
chambres  et  qui  est  sans  force  contre  la  resistance  des 
inte"rets  et  des  ide"es.  D£s  qu'il  veut  faire  un  pas  en  avant 
ou  en  arri£re  il  sent  qu'il  n'est  pas  soutenu,  il  he"site  et 
met  toute  sa  politique  &  ne  pas  bouger.  L'Empereur 
est  dit'on,  fort  vieilli ;  sa  volonte  a  sou  fieri,  et  il  ne  veut 
changer  ni  d'hommes  ni  de  systeTne,  ce  qui,  selon  moi, 
compromet  singulierement  1'avenir  de  la  dynastie. 

Quant  a  moi  je  ne  crois  pas  qu'on  songe  a  moi  pour 
les  elections.  Ma  situation  est  singuliere.  Les  idees  que 
je  defends  font  leur  chemin  parmi  les  jeunes  gens  et  les 
ouvriers,  mais  n'appartenant  a  aucun  parti  je  ne  suis  pas 
enr£gimente'.  II  en  re*sulte  que  pas  un  parti  organise"  ne 
se  soucie  de  moi.  Les  Democrates  ont  1'horreur  de  toute 
croyance  religieuse  et  ils  adorent  Robespierre  et  Dan  ton. 
J'ai  un  profond  me"pris  pour  ces  demagogues  que  n'ont 
rien  e"tabli  que  la  guillotine,  et  je  sais  que  sans  une  re- 
ligion les  hommes  ne  peuvent  pas  etre  libres ;  en  voila 
assez  pour  qu'on  ait  peu  de  confiance  en  moi.  Les 
libe'raux  de  la  vieille  e"cole  mettent  toute  la  politique  dans 
1'omnipotence  des  chambres,  je  suis  de  I'e'cole  ame"ricaine 

et 


AN  A  M  ERIC  A  N  AS  TRA  Y  IN  OLD  E  UROPE.  45 

et  j'enseigne  que  les  chambres  n'ont  que  des  pouvoirs 
ddle'gue's,  et  que  le  citoyen  a  des  droits  auxquels  un  par- 
lement  ne  peut  pas  toucher.  Vous  voyez  que  je  suis  un 
Americain  £gare  au  milieu  de  la  vieille  Europe.  J'ai  ce- 
pendant  mes  partisans  qui  grossissent  en  nombre  tous  les 
jours,  mais  quand  ils  feront  la  majorite,  il  y  aura  long- 
temps  que  je  me  reposerai  des  fatigues  de  ce  monde.  Je 
travaille  pour  1'avenir  avec  la  confiance  d'avoir  raison  et  la 
tranquillity  d'un  homme  qui  a  renonce  a  toute  ambition 
personelle.  Cen'estpasunemauvaisesituation.  J'ytrouve 
ce  grand  avantage  que  je  vis  paisible  et  que  je  n'ai  pas  £ 
me  reprocher  un  repos  e"golste  ;  mon  pays  ne  veut  pas  de 
moi  il  n'a  de  gout  que  pour  les  d^clamateurs  et  les 
farceurs.  Adieu  !  I/a  place  me  manque  pour  vous  dire  que 
je  pense  souvent  a  vous,  qu'on  se  souvient  de  vous  et  que 
je  regrette  beaucoup  que  vous  nous  ayez  quitte".  Vivez 
heureux,  et  pensez  quelques  fois  a  moi  comme  a  un  ami. 
Mes  respects  a  Madame  Bigelow. 

Votre  bien  devout 
ED. 


J'apprendrai  avec  bien  grand  plaisir  1'election  du 
ral  Grant  ;  je  crois  comme  vous  que  ce  sera  1'iuaugura- 
tion  d'une  ere  nouvelle  ;  il  n'y  aura  plus  de  place  pour 
la  politique  Sudiste  et  les  partis  seront  obliges  de  se 
transformer.  R£publicains  ou  Democrats,  on  n'aura  plus 
a  se  combattre  sur  le  terrain  des  State  Rights.  La 
nationality  Ame"ricaine  ne  sera  plus  contested. 


V. 

Is  Beguiled  by  the  Bmperor  into  a  Support  of  the  Plebiscite  of  1870— 
His  Defence  of  that  Measure — His  Version  of  the  Benedetti  Inci- 
dent and  Semi-official  Defence  of  the  Emperor's  Course  in 
Declaring  War. 

WHEN  in  contemplation  of  the  invasion  of  Germany 
the  Emperor  of  France  sought  to  conciliate  the 
opposition  by  promises  of  introducing  the  parliamentary 
responsibility  of  ministers  and  emancipating  the  press, 
Mr.  Laboulaye  was  one  of  the  ingenuous  and  single-minded 
men  of  influence  who  swallowed  the  bait  and  the  hook 
with  it.  Prevost  Paradol,  Emile  Olivier,  and  Cle'ment 
Duvernois  were  the  other  conspicuous  members  of  the 
opposition  who  were  victims  of  the  same  misplaced  con- 
fidence. All  were  formidable  with  their  pens,  all  were 
conspicuous  lights  upon  the  headlands  of  politics,  and  all 
had  to  be  disarmed  before  the  Emperor  cared  to  venture 
upon  a  foreign  war,  at  least  while  his  humiliation  in 
Mexico  was  fresh  in  the  public  mind.  They  all  listened 
to  his  proposals,  and  at  length  they  all  struck  hands  with 

him, 


BETRA  YED  BUT  NOT  BOUGHT.  47 

him,  but  swift  repentance  overtook  them.  Paradol 
accepted  the  mission  at  Washington  and  committed 
suicide.  Duvernois  accepted  a  place  in  the  cabinet,  fell 
into  temptations  which  cost  him  his  character  and  finally 
his  life.  Olivier  accepted  the  ministry  of  foreign  affairs  ; 
in  a  few  months  was  a  refugee  and  his  master  a  captive. 
From  the  obscurity  which  he  then  courted  he  has  never 
found  it  practicable  if  desirable  to  emerge.  Laboulaye 
trusting  in  the  good  faith  of  the  Emperor  publicly  and 
cordially  advocated  the  plebiscite  of  1870,  by  which  the 
people  were  called  upon  to  renew  the  expression  of  their 
confidence  in  the  Napoleonic  rule.  He  thus  so  completely 
committed  himself  to  the  imperial  regime,  that,  fortu- 
nately for  him,  it  was  not  thought  worth  while  to  waste 
upon  him  any  of  those  imperial  favors  which  were  sup- 
posed to  have  had  their  weight  in  seducing  the  other 
gentlemen  from  the  ranks  of  the  opposition,  and  which, 
if  tendered,  he  could  hardly  have  declined  had  he 
been  so  disposed.  This  was  fortunate,  for  the  worst  that 
can  now  be  said  of  Mr.  Laboulaye  is,  that  he  allowed  him- 
self to  be  deceived  and  betrayed,  but  no  one  can  say  that 
he  was  bought.  That  he  expected  a  place  in  the  ministry 
there  is  no  doubt ;  that  he  received  none,  is  his  best 
defence  against  the  shafts  of  calumny  and  detraction 
which  were  trained  upon  him  by  the  party  he  had  for- 
saken. When  he  found  he  had  been  a  dupe  he  was 
greatly  chagrined,  nor  did  he  attempt  to  disguise  it. 
From  the  political  flood  that  followed  he  took  refuge  in 
the  high  places  of  philosophy,  whence  he  contemplated 
with  not  entirely  silent  contempt  those  whom  he  left 
behind  him  in  the  surging  currents  of  partisanship. 

In 


48  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

In  June,  1870,  I  received  from  him  a  letter  in  which  he 
sought  to  defend  his  vote  for  the  plebiscite. 

At  the  date  of  this  letter  I  was  residing  in  Berlin. 

GivATiGNY,  VERSAIU,E;S,  7  Juin,  1870. 

CHER  MONSIEUR  : 

J'apprends  avec  grand  plaisir  votre  retour  en  Europe  ; 
j'espere  bien  que  vous  n'approcherez  pas  de  la  France 
sans  venir  voir  vos  anciens  et  fiddles  amis.  On  dit  que 
tout  chemin  mhte  a  Rome;  je  crois  qu'il  est  plus  vrai 
de  dire  aujourd'hui  que  tout  chemin  mene  a  Paris.  Je 
serais  bien  charme"  de  vous  faire  les  honneurs  de  mon 
jardin  qui  a  beaucoup  grandi,  depuis  le  jour  ou  vous 
£tes  venu  me  voir  en  1864. 

Vous  m'excuserez  si  je  ne  vous  ai  pas  re"pondu  plustot ; 
les  journaux  qui  ne  s'occupent  que  trop  de  moi,  vous 
auront  appris  comment  j'ai  soutenu  le  plebiscite,  com- 
ment j'ai  manqu^  d'etre  ministre,  et  comment  je  suistout 
simplement  professeur  insulte"  et  outrage  par  des  fous. 
Toutes  ces  vicissitudes  n'ont  en  rien  altere"  ma  tranquil- 
lite"  d'esprit ;  1'age  rend  philosophe,  et  mes  adversaires 
ne  me'ritent  que  le  me'pris  ;  mais  ma  situation  a  beaucoup 
change  en  France,  et  grace  a  mes  ennemis,  je  suis  en  ce 
moment  un  homme  considerable  dans  mon  pays.  Depuis 
dix  jours  je  ne  puis  sufSre  a  re"pondre  aux  temoignages 
d'estime  et  de  sympathie  qui  m'arrivent  de  tous  cote's  ;  et 
si  j'e"tais  plus  jeune  je  serais  le  chef  du  parti  constitu- 
tionnel  aux  prochaines  elections.  Mais  avec  mon  peude 
saute",  j'ai  bien  plus  envie  deme  reposer  dans  mon  jardin, 
que  de  jouer  un  r61e  actif  dans  un  pays  qui  ne  cornprend 

rien 


A  PLEA  FOR  THE  PLEBISCITE.  49 

rien  £  la  liberte,  et  qui  fait  de  la  politique  avec  des 
passions  et  des  appetite. 

J'ai  vote  le  plebiscite  et  conseille  de  le  voter  pour 
deux  raisons.  La  premiere  c'est  qu'  il  est  toujours  plus 
sage  d'accepter  la  liberte  presente  que  de  courir  les 
chances  de  1'inconnu,  quand  cet  incontm  est  une  revolu- 
tion ;  la  seconde  parceque  le  plebiscite,  en  restituant  le 
pouvoir  constituant  au  peuple,  et  en  declarant  qu'on  ne 
pourrait  plus  modifier  la  constitution  que  de  1'aveu  de  la 
nation,  m'a  paru  conforme  aux  vrais  principes  d£mocra- 
tiques,  tels  qu'ils  sont  entendus  et  pratiques  en  Suisse 
et  aux  Etats-Unis.  J'ai  repute"  vingt  fois  a  mon  cours  que 
nos  assemblies  constituantes  qui  s'attribuent  le  droit  de 
donner  au  peuple  une  constitution  qui  ne  les  convient 
pas,  £taient  des  assemblies  usurpatrices,  et  que  toujours 
cette  usurpation  avait  etc  fatale  a  la  liberte".  Cette  ide"e 
si  simple,  est  etrangere  a.  nos  Francais  qui  ne  vivent  que 
des  souvenirs  de  1789  et  qui  en  1848  ont  recommence" 
toutes  les  fautes  de  leurs  p£res  pour  rester  dans  le  meme 
abime.  Au  lieu  d'essayer  de  me  comprendre,  on 
m'a  calomnie,  on  m'a  voue  a  la  haine  et  au 
mepris  public,  mais  avec  peu  de  succes.  La  lumiere 
commence  a  se  faire  ;  on  finira  par  comprendre  que  le 
syst£me  Am€ricain  est  le  seul  qui  respecte  la  souve- 
rainete  populaire,  et  que  j'ai  eu  raison  de  la  deTendre. 
Dans  tous  les  cas  les  Ame"ricains  me  doivent  cette  justice 
que  j'ai  souffert  pour  soutenir  les  doctrines  que  j'ai 
apprises  a  leur  ecole. 

L'effet  du  plebiscite  est  considerable ;  le  pays 
(j'entends  par  la  la  grande  masse  des  bourgeois  et  des 
paysans)  est  heureux  d'avoir  vot6  pour  1' Empire  liberal, 

et 


50  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE 

et  d'avoir  e'crase'  les  r£actionnaires  et  les  jacobins  ;  le 
parti  extreme  est  de'soriente' ;  en  ce  moment  il  se  divise,  et 
ne  sera  bientota  la  chambre  qu'une  infinie  rninorite,  sans 
racine  autre-part  que  parmi  les  ouvriers  des  villes  dont 
on  irrite  les  convoitises.  I/a  chambre  elle  meme  ne  sait 
plus  que  faire,  et  une  dissolution  prochaine  me  parait  in- 
eVitable.  On  dit  que  1'Empereur  n'en  veut  pas  ;  il  a 
tort,  car  en  ce  moment  le  pays  est  aux  idees  de 
moderation,  et  lui  enverrait  d'honnetes  gens.  Mais 
quant  a  des  gens  capables  c'est  autre  chose.  Dix-huit  ans 
de  gouvernement  personnel  ont  tout  sterilis£  ;  il  faudra 
du  temps  pour  ressusciter  des  hommes  habitues  aux 
affaires,  et  moderns  par  la  situation.  Dans  tous  les  cas  la 
situation  de  1'Empereur  a  singuli^rement  grandi ;  le 
passe1  est  efface1,  on  ne  parle  plus  ni  du  Mexique,  ni  de 
Sadowa,  ni  du  2  Decembre  ;  il  a  recu  un  bapteme  popu- 
laire  qui  efface  la  tache  originelle.  Admirable  position 
s'il  sait  en  profiter. 

J'ai  lu  avec  grand  plaisir  vos  recherches  sur  Beaumar- 
chais ;  c'est  cependant  une  figure  suspecte,  etj'estime 
plus  son  esprit  que  son  caract£re.  Cela  n'empeche  pas 
qu'il  n'ait  pas  rendu  de  grands  services  £  1'Amerique 
emancipe"e. 

Si  vous  voyez  M.  Bancroft,  faites  lui  bien  mes  compli- 
ments, et  amenez  le  quelque  jour  en  France  que  je 
puisse  lui  temoigner  toute  mon  admiration  et  toute  mon 
amitie. 

Adieu,  et  puissiez  vous  bient6t  venir  £  Glatigny  pour 
causer  avec  un  ami,  et  de  1'Ame'rique,  et  de  la  France,  et 
deomne  re  scibile.  Votre  tout  ddvoue", 

ED.  lyABOUI/AYE. 


VINDICA  TION  OF  THE  EMPEROR.  5* 

Deplorable  illusions  from  which  a  wider  commerce 
with  the  political  world,  and  especially  with  the  political 
world  of  France,  might  have  protected  him.  As  if  Bona- 
partism  ever  was  or  ever  could  be  a  permanence  ;  as  if 
it  was  not  from  its  very  nature  and  essence  as  certain  to 
end  sooner  or  later  in  revolution  as  the  mountain  brook 
to  descend  to  the  river,  and  the  river  to  the  sea. 

Soon  after  the  receipt  of  the  foregoing,  in  a  letter  which 
I  addressed  him  from  Berlin,  I  alluded  to  the  Benedetti 
incident  as  throwing  upon  France  the  grave  responsibility 
of  commencing  a  war  which  was  liable  to  assume  uncon- 
trollable proportions.  In  reply  he  sent  me  a  letter  in- 
tended to  present  the  Emperor's  side  of  the  controversy 
fully  and  in  the  most  favorable  light  of  which  it  was 
susceptible.  It  was  written  with  the  avowed  expectation 
that  I  would  give  it  to  the  press,  a  privilege  of  which, 
however,  I  did  not  avail  myself,  for  I  had  just  returned 
from  a  tour  through  nearly  every  province  both  of 
northern  and  southern  Germany,  and  had  quite  made  up 
my  mind  that  no  soldier  of  Napoleon's  army  would  put  a 
foot  upon  German  soil  except  as  a  prisoner.  For  this 
reason  I  thought  I  was  then  doing  him  a  kindness  by 
withholding  it. 


,  VERSAILLES,  igjuillet,  1870. 

CHER  MONSIEUR  : 

Je  reponds  tout  de  suite  a  votre  lettre,  car  je  ne  vou- 
drais  pas  vous  laisser  concevoir  une  fausse  ide"e  sur  la  con- 
duite  de  notre  gouvernement  Si  je  ne  connais  pas  le 
fond  des  choses,  au  moins  puis-je  dire  que  je  suis  dans 
les  conditions  d"  impartiality  des  plus  completes,  car  je 

ne 


52  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

ne  compte  que  des  amis  de  1'autre  cot£  du  Rhin  et  je  re- 
garde  une  guerre  entre  les  Francais  et  les  Alletnands 
comme  une  guerre  fratricide,  comme  un  grand  malheur 
pour  1' Europe  et  pour  la  civilization. 

Je  ne  crois  pas  a  1'insulte  premeditee  de  M.  Benedetti  ; 
on  n'en  sait  rien  en  France  et  les  causes  de  la  guerre  sont 
telleinent  connues  que  je  ne  puis  voir  dans  tout  ce  re"cit 
qu'une  invention  pour  surexciter  le  patriotisine  germa- 
nique,  aux  depens  de  la  verit£. 

ly'irritation  de  la  France  contre  la  Prusse  qu'il  ne  faut 
pas  confondre  avec  rAllemagne,  date  de  la  guerre  contre 
le  Danemark,  a  propos  du  Schleswig.  Vous  savez  que, 
malgre  les  instances  de  1'Angleterre,  1'Ernpereur  aban- 
donna  ce  petit  pays  a.  une  lutte  ine"gale.  Ce  fut  un  grand 
cre"ve-cceur  pour  les  Francais.  Les  Danois  avaieut  £te" 
nos  allies  constants  dans  la  mauvaise  fortune  ;  on  vit 
avec  indignation  1'Autriche  re"unie  a.  la  Prusse  pour 
^eraser  un  peuple  digne  d'une  meilleure  fortune. 

Vint  ensuite  la  guerre  de  1866.  Cette  guerre  avait  e"te 
prepared  par  la  visite  de  M.  de  Bismark  a  Biarritz.  II 
£tait  venu  acheter,  disait  on,  la  neutralite  de  la  France. 
On  assurait  qu'il  avait  offert  la  Belgique  a  PEmpereur.  On 
lui  pretait  cette  parole  :  "  que  le  drapeau  Frangais  ferait 
aussi  bien  sur  la  citadelle  d'Anvers  que  le  drapeau  Prus- 
sien  sur  1'hotel  de  ville  d' Amsterdam."  On  avait  affirme" 
qu'il  avait  offert  a  1'Empereur  un  aggrandissement  de 
territoire  du  cote  du  Rhin,  et  que  1'Empereur  avait  re- 
fus£  d'expliquer,  ce  que  ge"nait  singulierement  M.  de 
Bismark. 

I^e  ddsastre  de  Sadowa  prit  la  France  au  de"pourvu.  La 
victoire  £tait  complete  pour  la  Prusse  ;  elle  en  usa  non 

seulement 


DANGER  FROM  PRUSSIAN  PREPONDERANCE.  53 

seulement  pour  mettre  1'Autriche  a  la  porte  de  1'Alle- 
magne  mais  pour  £tendre  la  suzerainet£  Prussienne  jusqu' 
aux  bords  du  Rhin.  Mayence  et  Rastadt  furent  occu- 
pees  par  des  garnisons  Prussietmes,  la  Prusse  dtait  en 
face  de  Strasbourg  et  nous  menacait.  On  nous  faisait 
sentir  qu'avec  le  fusil-a-aiguille  et  le  landwehr,  on  pouvait 
en  quelques  jours  se  Jeter  sur  la  France,  et  marcher  droit 
sur  Paris. 

L'effet  de  cette  jactance  prussienne  fut  de  nous  faire 
considerer  la  victoire  de  Sadowa  comme  une  defaite  pour 
la  France.  II  nous  fallait  d£penser  des  sommes  enormes 
pour  renouveler  notre  armement ;  entretenir  une  arm£e 
formidable,  et  nous  pr£parer  a  une  guerre  qui  eclaterait 
au  premier  jour.  C'est  ainsi  que  nous  avons  vecu  depuis 
quatre  ans,  bien  convaincus  qu'  a  la  premiere  occasion, 
M.  de  Bismark  essaierait  d'abbatre  la  France,  et  d'etablir 
en  Europe  la  preponderance  prussienne.  Etait-ce  chez 
M.  de  Bismark  un  projet  arrete  ou  n'etait  ce  qu'iine  vaine 
rodomontade,  calculee  pour  se  rendre  populaire  dans  son 
pays,  il  importe  peu  de  le  savoir.  I/effet  produit  a  €t6 
des  plus  regrettables,  la  France  s'est  crue  menaced  par  le 
voisinage  d'un  gouvernement  qui  a  toujours  eu  pour  de- 
vise le  mot  de  Frederic  II.  modifie  par  Voltaire  :  Suum 
cuique — rap  u  it. 

Pour  calmer  les  esprits  et  d£sanner  1'opposition,  1'Em- 
pereur  ndgocia  avec  le  roi  de  Hollande  la  cession  du 
grand  duche  de  L/uxembourg.  II  est  probable  que  ce 
faible  accroissement  de  territoire,  accepte  par  la  Prusse 
eut  change  le  cours  de  1'opinion  en  France.  Vous  savez 
que  la  Prusse  nous  repondit  par  des  menaces  de  guerre  ; 
qu'un  plan  d'invasion  fut  dresse  par  M.  de  Moltke,  plan 

qui 


54  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

qui  va  sans  doute  etre  suivi  dans  la  guerre  pr£sente  et 
qu'il  fallut  1'interventiou  de  1'Angleterre  pour  amener  une 
transaction  qui  ne  satisfit  personne. 

I/' Affaire  en  dtait  la.  Le  temps  pouvait  adoucir  1'irri- 
tation  Francaise,  on  ne  songeait  pas  a  une  guerre  pro- 
chaine  lorsqu'on  apprit  tout  a  coup  que  le  Prince  de 
Hohenzollern  allait  etre  appele"  a  la  couronned'Espagne. 
La  France  n'avait  pas  e"te  prevenue,  non  plus  que  le  reste 
de  1'Europe  ;  c'etait  une  intrigue  secrete  nou£e  entre  le 
roi  de  Prusse  et  le  Marechal  Prim,  qui  avait  tout  prepare". 
Je  crois  meme  etre  sur  que  la  cliose  etait  tellement 
secrete  que  le  Mare"chal  Prim  avait  trotnpe  notre  Ambas- 
sadeur  en  Espagne,  en  lui  affirmant  a  plusieurs  reprises 
qu'il  n'dtait  question  que  de  Due  d'Aoste. 

Selon  tnoi  dans  cette  circonstance,  tous  les  partis 
£taient  du  cote  du  roi  de  Prusse.  La  France  a  un  inte"ret  de 
premier  ordre  a  ce  que  1'Espagne  soit  son  alliee,  car  c'est 
le  cote"  par  lequel  elle  est  le  plus  vulnerable.  Sa  puis- 
sance est  affaiblie,  s'il  faut  qu'elle  se  deTende  a  la  fois  sur 
le  Rhin  et  sur  les  Pyrenees  ;  nous  1'avons  vu  sous  le  pre- 
mier Empire.  Un  prince  prussien  a  Madrid  n'est  pas 
plus  admissible  qu'un  Napole'on  sur  le  tr6ne  de  Saxe. 

La  France  pouvait  r£clamer  par  les  voies  diploma- 
tiques.  On  pouvait  charger  M.  Benedetti  de  dire  confi- 
dentiellement  au  roi  de  Prusse  qu'il  y  avait  1&  un  cas  de 
guerre.  On  cut  e"vite  ainsi  de  placer  le  roi  de  Prusse 
entre  une  humiliation  ou  la  guerre.  Ce  ne  fut  pas  cette 
marche  qu'on  suivit.  M.  de  Grammont  lut  aux  Chambres 
une  declaration  qui  annoncait  que  la  France  ne  souffrirait 
pas  un  Prince  prussien  a  Madrid.  C'^tait  la  rdponse  a 
I'intrigue  Hohenzollern  ;  cette  r£ponse  dtait  un  defi. 

En 


THE  BENEDETTI  INCIDENT.  55 

En  m£me  temps  la  France  se  plaignait  &  Berlin.  I/e 
Ministre  des  Affaires  Etrangeres,  M.  de  Thiele,  de"clarait 
qu'il  ne  savait  pas  ce  gu'on  voulait  lui  dire,  qu'il  ri"  avait 
aucune  connaissance  de  F  affaire  ;  le  roi  re*pondit  qu'il 
avait  autorise"  le  prince  de  Hohenzollern  mais  seulement 
comme  chef  de  famille,  tout  en  avouant  gu'tl  en  avait 
parle  a  M.  de  Bismark. 

Sur  les  instances  de  1'Angleterre  le  Prince  de  Hohen- 
zollern se  ddsista,  on  du  moins  laissa  e"crire  a  son  pe*re 
qu'il  se  desistait ;  ce  de"sistement  fut  accepte"  par  le  roi. 
Mais  rien  ne  nous  repondait  que  le  Prince  Leopold  ne 
ferait  pas  comme  son  frere  le  prince  Charles  de  Rou- 
manie,  et  qu'il  ne  se  viendrait  pas  en  Espagne  pour  y 
prendre  la  couronne.  C'est  alors  que  M.  Benedetti  de- 
manda  au  roi,  non  pas  de  se  lier  indefiniment,  mais  de 
-promettre  qu'en  aucun  cas  il  n'autoriserait  le  Prince 
Leopold  a  etre  roi  d'Espagne.  On  voulait  obliger  la 
Prusse  a  s'engager  a  rester  neutre  si  nous  avions  des 
difficultes  avec  1' Espagne.  Je  ne  crois  pas  que  cette  de- 
mande  depassat  la  limite  de  nos  droits. 

Mais,  en  Allemagne,  1'opinion  surexcite'e  se  prononca 
centre  la  reculade  de  la  Prusse,  les  passions  etaient 
de'chaine'es,  et  le  roi  de  Prusse  epousant  la  passion  popu- 
laire,  refusa  de  recevoir  M.  Benedetti,  en  lui  faisant 
declarer  par  un  aide  de  camp  qu'il  n'avait  plus  rien  a 
lui  dire. 

C'est  ici  que  se  placerait  la  pre"tendue  insulte  de  M. 
Benedetti,  mais  elle  est  inadmissible. 

i.  Parceque  le  roi  de  Prusse  ne  dit  rien  de  semblable 
dans  la  note  qu'il  a  fait  remettre  immediatement  aux 
puissances  etrangeres. 

2.  Parceque 


56  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

2.  Parceque  si   M.    Benedetti  avait  manque  aux  con- 
venances, c'est  a  la  France  qu'il  fallait  s'adresser  pour 
lui  demander  si  elle  acceptait  ou  si  elle  d^savouait  la 
conduite  de  son  ministre. 

3.  Enfin,  parceque  le  jour  meme  de  cette  soi-disant  in- 
sulte,  un  redacteur  du  Figaro,  present  a  Ems,  teiegraphiait 
qu'il  avait  vu  M.  Benedetti  s'approcher  du  roi  a  la  prom- 
enade, que  le  roi  lui  avait  tourn6  le  dos,  et  qu'un  prince  de 
Prusse  (le  prince  Albrecht)  s'etait  aussitot  approche  de 
M.  Benedetti  pour  lui  parler  avec  la  plus  grande  bienveil- 
lance  et  lui  faire  oublier  la  grossi£rete"  du  roi.     Cette 
depeche  aete  imprim^e  dans  le  Figaro,  avant  qu'  on  cut 
parie  de  1'affaire,  c'est  par  consequent  un  temoignage 
considerable,  donnd  par  un  spectateur  desinteresse. 

Ajoutez  que  s'il  y  avait  rien  eu  de  semblable  nous  en 
aurions  &t6  informes  par  le  gouvernement  Franfais  et 
qu'il  n'y  a  pas  meme  d'allusion  a  la  demarche  personnelle 
de  M.  Benedetti.  I/e  gouvernement  Franfais  n'a  pas 
cite  autre  chose  que  la  communication  du  roi  de  Prusse 
aux  puissances  etrangeres,  communication  qui  constata  : 
(i)  que  M.  Benedetti  a  demand^  au  roi  de  le  recevoir  et 
de  lui  donner  1'assurance  qu'il  n'approuverait  en  aucun 
cas  la  candidature  du  prince  Leopold  ;  (2)  que  le  roi  a 
fait  repondre  par  un  aide  de  camp  qu'il  n'avait  plus  rien 
a  dire  a  M.  Benedetti. 

Voila  cher  Monsieur,  ce  que  je  crois  etre  la  verite,  il 
n'est  pas  vrai  que  tout  a  coup,  sans  cause,  la  France  ait 
declare  la  guerre  ;  il  est  certain  que  la  Prusse  a,  depuis 
quatre  ans,  cherche  toutes  les  occasions  de  nous  faire  sen- 
tir  qu'il  fallait  coinpter  desormais  avec  elle,  et  qu'au 
besoin  elle  saurait  nous  faire  plier.  Y  a  t'il  eu  des  fautes 

commises 


INSOLENCE  OF  PR  USSIA .  5  7 

commises  par  le  gouvernement  franjais,  cela  se  peut ; 
mais  assurement  les  premiers  torts  ne  sont  pas  de  notre 
cote.  Et  je  crois  que  la  Prusse  a  voulu  la  guerre  avant 
nous  et  s'y  est  preparee  depuis  longtemps. 

Cette  insolence  de  la  Prusse  a  blesse  la  nation  fran- 
caise,  la  guerre  est  acceptee  par  1'opinion  comme  une 
nkcessiti,  et  on  ira  jusqu'au  bout.  A  Paris  et  a  Berlin  la 
foule  salue  avec  joie  la  guerre,  c'est  un  spectacle  qui 
1'amuse  en  com menf ant ;  nos  soldats  sont  plus  s£rieux  ; 
ils  partent  a  la  frontiere  avec  la  ferme  resolution  d'en 
finir ;  ils  savent  que  la  lutte  sera  rude,  ils  estiment  le 
courage  et  le  talent  de  1'ennemi,  mais  ils  ont  confiance 
dans  leur  £nergie,  et  de  plus  ils  se  croient  plus  habitue's, 
a  la  guerre,  et  mieux  arme's.  Je  crois  que  le  choc  sera 
terrible,  et  qu'on  se  battra  de  part  et  d'autre  avec  un 
acharnement  semblable  a  celui  du  Nord  et  du  Sud.  II  y 
a  de  vieilles  rancunes  centre  les  Prussiens.  En  1814  et 
en  1815  ils  se  sont  distingu£s  en  France  par  leur  inso- 
lence et  leur  rapacit£  ;  nos  paysans  neles  ont  pas  oubli^s, 
pas  plus  que  nos  soldats  n'ont  oublie'  Jena  et  Waterloo. 
I/opinion  geneYale  est  qu'il  faudra  plus  d'une  bataille,  et 
que  la  guerre  ne  finira  qu'aux  portes  de  Berlin  ou  de 
Paris. 

On  dit  1'Empereur  anime  d'intentionsplusconciliantes 
et  satisfait  s'il  peut  eloigner  la  Prusse  du  Rhin,  en 
mettant  comme  autrefois  de  petits  royaumes  entre  les 
deux  peuples  ;  mais  si  nous  sommes  vainqueurs,  1'opin- 
ion  sera  plus  exigeante,  et  1'Empereur  sera  d£borde.  Nous 
n'avons  pas  encore  vu  le  sang  couler,  mais  une  foi  que 
1'ivresse  du  sang  aura  commence^  il  faudra  plus  d'uu  jour 
pour  revenir  a  la  raison. 

Voila, 


$8  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

Voila,  selon  moi,  1'expose'fideledecettetriste  situation. 
Personne  en  France  n'en  veut  a  1'Allemagne  on  ne  con- 
nait  que  la  Prusse  et  son  ambition  insatiable.  Si  elle 
re"ussit,  si  elle  abat  la  France,  la  monarchic  universelle 
est  reconstitute,  1'Autriche  sera  bient&t  la  vassale  des 
Hohenzollern,  et  Vieune  deviendra  une  ville  prussienne  ; 
si  la  Prusse  est  vaincue,  la  France  sera,  je  crois,  tres 
inodere'e  pour  1'Allemagne,  tres  exigeante  pour  la  Prusse. 
Nous  voulons  une  paix  assured  et  non  pas  la  conqu£te, 
ce  qui  ne  veut  pas  dire  que  la  possession  des  bords  du 
Rhin  ne  paraisse  a  beaucoup  de  gens  uue  condition  de 
la  paix. 

I/a  guerre  restera  t'elle  limite'e  entre  les  deux  peuples? 
j'en  doute.  II  me  parait  impossible  que  le  Danemark  ne 
saisisse  pas  cette  occasion  d'obtenir  justice  et  qu'il 
restera  neutre  si  uos  flottes  paraissent  a  l'embouchure  de 
1'Elbe  ou  dans  la  Baltique.  Quant  a  la  Russie,  a  1'Au- 
triche  et  a  1'Angleterre,  je  ne  veux  rien  dire,  n'ayant  que 
mes  propres  conjectures  a  vous  soumettre,  mais  si  la 
guerre  n'est  pas  promptetnent  acheve'e,  je  crains  quetoute 
1'Burope  ne  s'en  mele.  Puissiez  vous  alors  sentir  le  bon- 
heur  de  votre  isolement  et  vous  de"velopper  en  paix 
tandisque  la  vieille  Europe  s'enfoncera  de  plus  en  plus 
dans  la  barbaric.  Westward  the  Empire  takes  its  way  ; 
1'avenir,  et  un  avenir  prochain  le  montrera. 

Adieu,  cher  Monsieur,  croyez  moi  en  toute  circon- 
stance,  Votre  tout  d^vou^, 

ED.  IvABOUi,AYE;. 

P.  S. — Je  suis  libre  e"changiste  et  je  fais  partie  d'une 
socie'te'  Ame'ricaine  libre  e"changiste,  mais  non  pas  du 
Club  Cobden.  D'ailleurs  mon  peu  de  saute"  me  retient 

a 


PREA  CHES  PEA  CE.  59 

a  la  maison.    Je  n'aurai  done  pas  le  plaisir  de  vous  voir 
a  Londres  au  diner  de  23. 

Si  par  hasard  vous  publiez  tout  ou  une  partie  de  ma 
lettre  en  Angleterre  ou  aux  Etats-Unis  obligez  moi  de  ne 
pas  mettre  mon  nom.  En  ce  moment  tout  Francais 
comme  tout  Prussien  est  tenu  a  la  plus  grand  reserve  et 
je  ne  voudrais  prendre  un  role  actif  dans  ce  terrible 
proces  a  main  annee.  Tout  au  contraire  je  voudrais 
precher  la  paix  a  tout  le  monde,  aussitot  que  ma  voix 
aura  chance  d'etre  ecoute"e.  Malheureusement  nous 
n'en  trouvons  pas  la  et  il  ne  me  reste  qu'a  faire  des  voeux 
pour  la  triomphe  du  mon  pays. 


VI. 


The  Feeling  in  France  towards  the  Prussians  and  Especially 
towards  Bismarck— Impossible  to  I,ive  Peaceably  with  the 
Prussians  for  Neighbors — The  Defeat  at  Sedan. 

SOON  after  the  war  between  France  and  Germany  had 
been  declared,  but  before  the  armies  of  the  respec- 
tive nations  had  taken  the  field,  I  wrote  M.  I,aboulaye 
from  Berlin  to  caution  him  against  putting  too  much  of 
his  limited  means  in  the  new  loan  to  which  his  country- 
men had  been  invited  to  subscribe,  assigning  as  a  reason 
for  presuming  to  advise  him  upon  such  a  matter,  that  I 
had  just  been  through  Germany  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  and  had  satisfied  myself  that  the  result  of  the  war 
was  likely  to  disappoint  him,  and  that  if  France  did  not 
sustain  a  prompt  defeat  she  would  have  to  sustain  a  pro- 
tracted and  wasting  war.  In  a  few  days  I  received  the 
following  reply.  It  proved  another  illustration  of  the 
unprofitableness,  to  say  nothing  of  the  danger,  of  a 
disinterested  party  stepping  between  inflamed  com- 
batants. I  might  as  well  have  expressed  a  hope  that 

France 


THE  NE IV  MA  CEDONIA  NS.  6 1 

France  would  be  defeated,  as  a  doubt  that  she  would 
triumph. 

PARIS,  27  Aout,  1870,  34  RUE  TAITBOUT. 

CHER  MONSIEUR  : 

Je  vous  remercie  de  l'int£ret  que  vous  me  temoignez, 
je  reconnais  la,  votre  constante  amitie  mais  nous  sommes 
moins  emus  que  vous  ne  pensez.  J'ai  £te  une  fois  abord£ 
en  mer  et  pres  de  faire  naufrage  ;  j'ai  appris  la  par  ex- 
p£rience  qu'en  face  de  la  mort  et  du  danger  on  eprouve 
une  serenite  plus  grande  qu'on  n'imagine  ;  les  dangers 
qui  nous  menacent  m'ont  rendu  cette  sere"nite.  Ce  que 
nous  prepare  1'avenir,  je  1'ignore  ;  mais  je  suis  pret  a  tout 
sacrifier,  ma  fortune  et  ma  vie  pour  aider  a  la  defense  de 
mon  pays.  Si  les  Prussiens  sont  vainqueurs,  ils  peuvent 
s'attendre  a  payer  cher  leur  succes,  et  a  moiiis  qu'ils  ne 
tuent  le  dernier  Francais,  leur  victoire  ne  sera  pas  de 
longue  duree.  Ils  ne  se  doutent  pas  de  la  haine  et  de  la 
vengeance  qu'ils  sement  dans  nos  coeurs. 

Ce  que  vous  me  dites  de  leurs  projets  ne  m'£tonne 
pas  ;  les  journaux  anglais  nous  dounent  tous  les  matins 
les  memes  nouvelles.  Je  connais  de  longue  date  les 
convoitises  et  les  jalousies  de  ces  nouveaux  Macedoniens  ; 
personne  sur  ce  point  ne  se  fait  d'illusion  en  France,  et 
c'est  pourquoi  nous  r£sisterons  jusqu'au  bout.  Vous 
croyez  que  Paris  ne  peut  se  deTendre.  Politiquement 
cela  est  possible,  les  fautes  de  1'Enipereur  ont  r^ volte 
tout  le  monde,  nous  pouvons  craindre  une  revolution  qui 
nous  livrent  a  1'ennemi.  J'espere  cependant  qu'il  n'en 
sera  rien  car  le  patriotisme  gagne  tous  les  jours  et 
viendra  a  bout  de  nos  difficulte's  int£rieures. 

Militairement 


62  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

Militairement  je  crois  Paris  tres  facile  a  deTendre  pen- 
dant deux  mois  au  moins.  Une  arme"e  de  cent  mille 
hommes  (et  nous  avons  de"ja  plus  que  cela)  qui  peut 
servir  par  tous  les  points  de  1'horizon  e"quivaut  a  une 
arme*e  de  quatre  cent  mille  homines  range's  a  quelques 
lieues  de  Paris.  Et  les  Prussiens  n'ont  pas  encore  quatre 
cent  mille  hommes  a  amener  centre  nous.  Quand  ils 
auront  e'crase'  Bazaine  et  MacMahon  il  sera  temps  pour 
eux  de  marcher  sur  Paris.  Mais  d'ici  la,  ce  n'est  pas 
cent  mille  mais  trois  cent  mille  hommes  que  nous  aurons 
a  leur  opposer. 

II  y  a  dans  votre  lettre  un  passage  qui  m'e'tonne.  Nous 
accuser  d'avoir  provoque"  la  guerre  est  un  enfantillage. 
Comment  voulez  vous  qu'il  nous  rut  possible  de  vivre 
paisiblement  a  cote"  d'un  peuple  qui,  suivant  vous  peut 
mobiliser  800,000  hommes  en  quinze  jours?  Supposez 
au  Canada  une  telle  puissance,  quelle  serait  votre  situa- 
tion aux  I$tats-Unis  ?  La  guerre  a  e"te"  sottement  de"clare"e 
par  un  gouvernement  incapable  ;  nous  avons  e'te'  surpris, 
mais  la  guerre  e"tait  fatale  depuis  Sadowa.  Quand  a  la 
superiority  de  cette  arm^e  ou  tout  le  monde  sait  lire  ou 
les  plus  nobles  se  font  soldats,  permettez  moi  de  vous  dire 
qu'aujourd'hui  nos  regiments  sont  remplis  de  nos  plus 
nobles  citoyens.  Nous  ne  sommes  pas  infe°rieurs  a  la 
Prusse  et  si  nous  devons  succomber  devant  le  nombre  et 
1'organisation  au  moins  aurons  nous  vers£  le  plus  pur  de 
notre  sang. 

Quant  a  moi,  vieux  et  infirme  je  m'occupe  des  devoirs 
aux  blesses  mais  si  mon  pays  doit  subir  1'humiliation 
d'une  deTaite,  je  ne  demande  qu'a  partir  de  la  vie  ;  ruine", 
vole"  ou  tue~  par  les  soldats  de  Bismark,  c'est  pour  moi 

chose 


THE  DEFEA  T  AT  SEDAN.  63 

chose  indifferente.  Si  je  vis  je  trouverai  bien  un  coin 
pour  finir  obscure'ment  mes  jours,  mais  jusqu'a  mon 
dernier  moment  je  precherai  a  mescoucitoyens  la  resist- 
ance et  au  besoin  la  vengeance.  M.  Bismark  peut  nous 
^eraser  mais  il  ne  trouvera  chez  nous  que  le  mepris  de  la 
force  et  la  haine  de  1'etranger. 

Adieu  cher  Monsieur  Bigelow  ;  souvenez  vous  qu'on 
disait  le  Nord  perdu  quand  nous  combattions  ensemble 
pour  le  soutenir  et  1'encourager  ;  et  permettez  moi  de 
ne  pas  de'sesperer  malgre  la  jactance  de  nos  ennemis. 

Votre  bien  ddvou£, 

ED. 


The  defeat  at  Sedan,  the  captivity  of  the  Emperor,  and 
the  establishment  of  a  provisional  government  under  the 
auspices  of  the  half-dozen  avowed  republicans  in  the 
Chamber,  presented  a  situation  with  which  I/aboulaye's 
training  and  experience  wholly  unfitted  him  to  cope,  and 
revealed  to  others  his  utter  disqualifications  for  leader- 
ship in  the  storm  which  had  then  set  in.  He  was  a  little 
uncertain  which  was  worse  for  France,  the  government 
of  the  Hotel  de  Ville  or  of  the  Germans.  It  was  in  the 
immediate  presence  of  those  startling  changes  that  he 
addressed  to  me  the  following  letter. 

PARIS,  6  Septembre,  1870. 
CHER  MONSIEUR  BIGELOW  : 

La  defaite  de  MacMahon  et  la  perte  de  son  armee  ne 
vous  donnera  que  trop  raison  ;  mais  cela  ne  peut  rien 
changer  ni  a.  ma  position  ni  a.  mes  resolutions.  Si  j'£tais 

passager 


64  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

passager  dans  un  navire  de  commerce  je  pourrais  songer 
a  fuir  des  dangers  trop  certains,  mais  je  suis  embarqu£ 
dans  un  navire  de  guerre,  sur  le  vaisseau  de  la  patrie  ; 
il  vaut  mieux  sotnbrer  que  d'amener  notre  drapeau. 
Qu'auriez  vous  fait  si  le  Sud  victorieux  £tait  venu  assieger 
New  York.  Auriez  vous  pense  a  desarmer  1'ennemi  par 
votre  condescendance  ?  Et  croyez  vous  qu'il  n'eut  pas 
abuse  de  votre  faiblesse  aussi  bien  que  de  la  victoire  ?  Si 
la  Prusse  1'emporte,  qu'elle  fasse  tout  ce  qu'elle  voudra, 
seulement  qu'elle  ne  compte  pas  sur  une  paix  durable  ; 
elle  a  seme"  la  haine  et  la  guerre  pour  cinqiiante  ans.  Le 
bombardement  de  Strasbourg  est  une  chose  horrible, 
celui  de  Paris  indigne  le  monde  entier  et  avant  deux  ou 
trois  ans  vous  aurez  une  coalition. 

Ce  qui  se  passe  a  Paris  depuis  trois  jours  est  fort 
triste.  La  chambre  envahie  par  un  coup  de  main,  soig- 
neusement  prepare",  la  republique  proclatne'e  a.  1' Hotel 
de  Ville  au  profit  des  seuls  deputes  de  Paris  et  d'un 
seul  parti  politique,  celui  du  Sttcle,  c'est  le  retour  de 
Fevrier  1848 ;  ce  n'est  pas  le  moyen  d'amener  cette  unite" 
supreme  qui  seul  cut  pu  nous  sauver  ou  rallentir  notre 
perte.  Aussi  faut  il  nous  attendre  a  des  troubles  inte"- 
rieurs  autant  qu'aux  perils  du  dehors.  L,es  socialistes  et 
les  ouvriers  qui  meurent  de  faim  voudront  prendre  en 
main  le  pouvoir ;  je  ne  suis  pas  sur  qu'ils  e'choueront. 
Nous  aurons  alors  une  crise  interieure,  qui  ne  nous  lais- 
sera  pas  meme  la  liberte"  de  nous  defendre.  Terrible  de- 
struction qui  ne  peut  profiter  qu'  a  1'ennemi. 

I/etablissement  de  la  Republique  en  France,  c'est  dans 
un  temps  prochain,  la  Republique  en  Italic  et  en  Espagne. 
H  y  a  la  pour  la  Prusse  un  danger  qu'elle  ne  soupconne 

peut-etre 


PERILS  OF  VICTORY  TO  PRUSSIA.  65 

peut-etre  pas.  L,es  socialistes  re"publicains  sont  nombreux 
en  Allemagne  et  la  victoire  de  M.  de  Bismark  (si  victoire 
il  y  a)  pourra  bien  n'etre  pas  sans  melange.  Toutes  les 
fois  qu'on  bouleversera  un  pays  par  la  revolution  ou  par 
la  guerre  on  re"colte  des  fruits  empoisonnes,  auxquels  on 
u'avait  pas  songe". 

L,a  revolution  de  Dimanche  s'est  fake  du  reste  comme 
un  prononciamento  Espagnol ;  soldats  et  gardes  uationaux 
se  sont  etnbrasse's  ;  on  a  chante",  on  a  bu,  comme  si  1'en- 
nemi  n'etait  pas  aux  portes  ;  on  eut  dit  que  la  Republique 
nous  donnait  la  victoire.  Au  fonds  on  e"tait  heureux  de 
voir  1'Empire  s'ecrouler.  On  ne  lui  pardonnait  pas  son 
origine,  et  encore  moins  sa  defaite. 

L'lmpera trice  est  partie  sans  que  personne  songeat  £. 
1'inquieter ;  la  princesse  Clotilde  a  etc  entouree  de 
marques  de  respect  jusqu'i  la  voiture  qui  I'emmenait. 
On  n'a  tne'me  pas  beaucoup  crie  &  has  V Empire.  Depuis 
un  mois  il  n'existait  plus. 

Adieu,  cher  Monsieur  Bigelow  ;  dans  quelques  jours  je 
ne  pourrai  plus  vous  ecrire.  Quand  1'orage  aura  passe 
nous  nous  retrouverons  peut-etre,  mais  si  jedoisrester  dans 
le  [illegible]  croyez  que  je  ne  suis  pas  a.  plaindre  ;  car  le 
malheur  de  mon  pays  me  navre,  et  je  trouve  que  j'ai  trop 
v£cu.  I/'humiliation  et  la  mine  de  la  France  ne  seront 
du  reste  un  bienfait  pour  personne  ;  la  Prusse  perdra  en 
puissance  morale  tout  ce  qu'elle  gagnera  en  puissance 
materielle  ;  ce  sera  son  tour  d'etre  un  objet  de  jalousie 
pour  1' Europe,  et  malheur  £  elle,  le  jour  ou  nous  pourrons 
nous  relever. 

Tout  a  vous  en  vous  remerciant  de  votre  amiti^. 

E.  L. 
If 


66  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

If  M.  Laboulaye  talked  of  the  new  government  as  lie 
wrote  to  me,  it  is  not  surprising  that  he  found  it  advisable 
to  withdraw  from  Paris  and  from  public  notice.  During 
the  whole  year  of  the  Commune  he  was  a  voluntary  exile 
in  the  obscure  village  of  Bolbec.  Upon  the  establishment 
of  the  Thiers  government  he  was  elected  to  the  Assemblee 
Nationale.  Shortly  after  which  I  received  from  him  the 
following  letter. 

GI<ATIGNY,  VERSAII^ES,  28  Juillet,  1871. 
CHER  MONSIEUR  BIGEI/OW  : 

II  y  a  bien  longtemps  que  j'aurais  du  vous  e"crire.  Les 
terribles  e've'nements  que  nous  avons  traverse's  sont  la 
cause  de  mon  silence  ;  il  faut  pardonner  beaucoup  de 
choses  a  des  naufrage"s. 

Je  vous  avais  dcrit  apres  le  4  Septembre  en  vous  disant 
que  je  resterais  a  Paris  pour  faire  mon  devoir  d'infirmier. 
Mais  je  n'ai  pu  donner  suite  a  cette  resolution.  Menace" 
des  le  6  Septembre  par  les  hommes  de  la  Commune  qui 
dej'a  se  croyaient  surs  de  re"ussir  et  qui  comptaient  sur  le 
si£ge  pour  s'emparer  du  pouvoir,  j'ai  cru  prudent  de 
m'e'loigner  de  Paris  durant  quelques  jours,  et  je  suis  parti 
pour  organiser  des  ambulances  en  Normandie.  I/a 
prompte  arrivee  des  Prussiens  m'a  ferine"  les  portes  de 
Paris  et,  se"pare"  d'une  partie  de  ma  famille  je  suis  reste" 
a  Bolbec  pres  du  Havre  et,  depuis  le  mois  de  De"cembre 
jusqu'a  1' armistice,  j'ai  ve"cu  au  milieu  de  la  guerre  et  de 
1'invasion.  J'ai  vu  de  pr£s  la  civilization  Prussienne,  et 
j'espe're  que  le  jour  se  fera  prochainement  sur  la  conduite 
d'un  peuple  qui,  au  me"pris  du  droit  des  gens  modernes, 
s'est  conduit  avec  toute  la  barbaric  et  la  rapacit6  des 

lansquenets 


BARBARITY  OF  THE  PRUSSIANS.  6? 

lansquenets  de  la  guerre  de  Trente  Ans.  On  vous  trompe 
en  Allemagne  comme  aux  Etats-Unis  ;  mais  le  niensonge 
n'a  qu'un  jour  et  1'histoire  le  dissipera.  J'ai  vu  de  mes 
yeux,  1'incendie  syste"matique,  la  ranjon  de  villes  et 
villages  qui  ne  se  de"fendaient  pas,  la  prise  des  otages,  le 
vol  des  officiers  et  des  soldats,  1'ivrognerie  et  la  debauche 
des  chefs,  tous  les  crimes  reunis,  hormis  un  seul  (1'atten- 
tat  centre  la  pudeur  des  femmes)  et  j'ai  conju  une  haine 
profonde  centre  cette  race  hypocrite  et  perverse,  incapa- 
ble de  noblesse  et  de  generosite".  Ne  croyez  pas  qu'a 
mon  age  je  cede  a  1'orgueil  blesse",  a  un  faux  patriotisme, 
non  c'est  comme  homme  et  non  pas  comme  franjais,  que 
j'eprouve  autant  d'indignation  que  de  mepris  centre  de 
pareils  brigands. 

Rentre*  a.  Paris  le  15  Mars,  j'en  suis  parti  le  26  pour  me 
retirer  a  Versailles  dans  ma  maison  que  les  Prussiens 
avaient  quitte'  le  12.  Je  n'avais  e"te  que  mod£r£ment 
pille"  par  comparaison  avec  mes  voisins  ;  il  est  vrai  que 
j'avais  eu  1'heureuse  chance  de  n'avoir  point  d'officiers 
chez  moi.  Le  jardinier  avait  fourni  aux  soldats  le  vin  et 
le  bois  qu'ils  demandaient,  aussi  s'etaient  ils  contented 
de  piller  ma  cave  et  de  prendre  quelques  petits  objets  qui 
leur  faisaient  en  vie.  De  plus  c'etaient  des  catholiques 
et  ils  avaient  respecte  le  crucifix  de  ma  femme  qu'ils 
avaient  pose  avec  veneration  sur  un  nieuble  et  entoure  de 
buis.  A  cote"  de  moi  uiie  maison  beaucoup  plus  impor- 
tante,  celle  de  Madame  la  Marquise  de  la  Tour  Dupin  a 
€t€  enti£rement  pill^e  et  les  tableaux  de  fatnille  soigneuse- 
ment  emballes  pour  Berlin  avec  les  pianos  et  les  pendules. 
Mais  qu'est  ce  que  cela  a  cote  de  Saint  Cloud,  brule*  au 
pe"trole,  le  lendemain  de  1' armistice  ?  Six  cents  maisons 

out 


68  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

ont  e"te"  d£truites  froidement  par  calcul,  pour  montrer 
aux  Francais  que  les  Prussians  font  la  guerre  skrieuse- 
•ment  et  sans  romantisme.  Vous  aurez  peine  a  croire 
cela  uiais  un  jour  viendra  ou  la  v£rit6  vous  frappera,  et 
si  vous  pouviez  voir  St.  Cloud  un  seul  jour  vous  sauriez 
a  quoi  vous  en  tenir  sur  la  vertu  Prussienne  ;  elle  ressem- 
ble  a  celle  de  vos  aristocrates  du  Sud.  C'est  en  deux  mots 
the  sum  of  all  villanies.  Je  lirai  avec  inte"r£t  votre  bro- 
chure mais  je  doute  que  loin  de  la  France  on  puisse  se 
faire  une  id6e  juste  de  notre  situation.  Nous  sommes 
fort  malades,  et  la  sagesse  des  derni£res  Elections  ne 
peut  pas  nous  faire  illusion.  Les  villes  et  les  campagnes 
sont  travaillees  par  le  communisme  et,  avec  le  gouverne- 
ment  provisoire  que  nous  avons,  il  est  possible  qu'on  voie 
£clater  un  beau  jour  ou  un  prommciamento  militaire  ou 
une  guerre  sociale.  II  faudrait  pour  sauver  la  France  un 
coeur  ge"ne"reux  et  un  bras  de  fer.  Monsieur  Thiers  n'est 
qu'un  politique  habile,  mais  peu  habitue"  a  gouverner. 
II  aura  la  majorite"  dans  la  chambre  qui  est  fort  sage, 
mais  1'aura  t'il  dans  le  pays  ? 

Vous  aviez  raison  de  dire  qu'il  vaudrait  mieux  que 
I'assemble'e  nationale  fut  une  assembled  constituante. 
Nous  avons  grand  besoin  d'avoir  une  constitution,  un 
governemeut  de'finitif.  Mais  nos  homines  d'etat  igno- 
rent  que  la  se"curit£  est  le  grand  besoin  des  peuples  :  ils 
ont  fait  1' opposition  toute  leur  vie,  au  cri  de  vive  la  Li- 
bertt,  et  ils  supposent  trop  aise"ment  qu'une  assembled 
donne  a  un  pays  toutes  les  garanties  dont  la  soci£t£  a 
besoin  pour  travailler,  pour  vivre.  Je  ne  sais  pas  encore 
quel  role  je  pourrai  jouer  dans  1'Assemble'e  ;  je  suis  vieux, 
fatigue",  sans  ambition,  et  n'ai  rien  de  ce  qu'il  faut  pour 

conduire 


VICTOR  EMMANUEL  AND  M.  TRIERS.  69 

conduire  un  parti,  ou  aider  a  le  conduire.  Je  ferai  de 
mon  mieux  quand  j'aurai  un  peu  e'tudie  le  temperament 
de  1' assembled.  EHe  est  certainement  tres  honnete  et 
tres  modere"e,  mais  elle  est  fort  ignorante  et  facile  a 
tromper  avec  de  belles  paroles  et  de  lieux  communs. 

Je  ne  crois  pas  que  Mr.  Thiers  se  compromette  avec 
1'Italie  ;  il  est  fort  decide"  a  r£parer  les  maux  de  la  guerre, 
et  a  remettre  1'armee  en  etat ;  mais  la  conduite  du  roi 
d'ltalie  a  notre  e"gard  n'est  pas  de  nature  a  fortifier 
1'amitid  des  deux  nations.  Nous  ne  pouvons  oublier  que 
Victor  Emmanuel  a  viol£  le  trait£  qu'il  avait  sign£  le 
jour  ou  nous  £tions  hors  d'etat  de  le  faire  respecter.  Des 
voisins  qui  sont  prets  a  profiter  de  nos  malheurs  pour 
manquer  a  leur  parole  nesont  pas  du  gout  Francais.  Ce  ne 
sont  pas  seulement  les  catholiques  qui  sont  blesses  de 
cette  mauvaise  foi.  Du  reste  je  me  suis  explique"  sur  ce 
point  avec  mes  amis  d'ltalie.  Je  crois  1 'union  des  deux 
pays  utile  et  necessaire,  mais  a  la  condition  que  le  pape 
ne  soit  pas  la  victime  de  cette  union. 

Quant  a  1'attitude  de  la  Prusse  et  de  PAutriche  vis  a  vis 
du  pape  et  du  dogme  de  1'infaillibilite,  je  n'ai  rien  a  re- 
dire.  Je  souhaite  que  M.  de  Bismark  s'engage  dans  cette 
voie  ou  assurement  il  apprendra  que  la  force  ne  peut  rien 
contre  les  consciences,  (e'gare'es  on  non,  peu  importe). 
Le  mdrite  de  la  France  depuis  1789  c'est  d'avoir  toujours 
respecte"  les  scrupules  catholiques  et  de  n'avoir  rompu 
avec  la  vieille  politique  gallicane.  Que  M.  de  Bismark 
ramene  concordataire  de  Louis  XIV.  comme  il  a  ramen£ 
le  droit  des  gens  au  temps  de  la  guerre  du  palatinat, 
c'est  son  affaire.  Un  avenir  prochain  dira  qu'il  s'est 
trompe  en  religion  comme  en  politique,  et  qu'il  n'a  fait 

que 


70  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

que  semer  partout  les  germes  d'une  guerre  qui  sera  le 
fle"au  et  1'abaissement  de  1' Europe  pendant  un  espace  de 
temps  qu'il  ne  m'appartient  pas  de  fixer.  II  a  declare" 
pardessus  les  toits  que  le  Frangais  e"tait  V Erbfeind  de 
1'  Allemagne.  II  vabientot  declarer  que  le  Protestantisme 
Germanique  doit  en  finir  avec  le  Catholicisme  Romain. 
Nous  verrons  ou  rnenent  toutes  ces  theories  de  haine 
et  de  vengeance.  Pour  moi  Tissue  n'est  pas  douteuse, 
c'est  le  reveil  de  toutes  les  haines  de  culte  et  de  race,  et 
dans  un  temps  donne"  une  guerre  dont  la  guerre  de  1870 
n'aura  e"te"  que  le  faible  prelude.  Ces  ide'es  vous  £tonner- 
ont  sans  doute  et  vous  me  croirez  fort  misanthrope  et  fort 
me'lancolique.  Vous  etes  assez  jeune  pour  voir  un  jour 
que  je  n'avais  que  trop  raison. 

Adieu,  mes  respects  a  Madame  Bigelow,  et  mille  re- 
merciments  de  votre  bon  souvenir. 

Votre  bien  deVoue", 

ED.  LABOUR  A  YE. 

The  result  of  the  war  was  no  less  a  surprise  than  an  af- 
fliction to  M.  I/aboulaye,  for,  in  common  with  most  of  his 
countrymen  in  those  days,  he  believed  in  the  invincibil- 
ity of  the  French  armies  and  in  the  supremacy  of  the 
Napoleonic  star.  It  filled  his  heart  with  inexpressible 
bitterness  toward  the  German  people  in  general — though 
with  some  of  them  he  had,  since  his  university  days,  held 
the  most  cordial  relations — and  toward  Bismarck  in  par- 
ticular as  the  incarnation  of  barbarism.  I  am  told  that 
he  even  went  so  far  as  to  indite  a  sort  of  circular-letter  to 
his  German  friends  in  1870,  formally  breaking  off  and 
terminating  all  connection  with  them. 

How 


SENA  TOR  FOR  LIFE.  71 

How  true  was  Bismarck's  reply  to  the  almost  pathetic 
inquiry  of  Theirs  : 

"  Mais  qui  combattez  vous  done  ?  " 

"  Louis  XIV.,"  was  the  reply. 

It  never  seemed  to  have  occurred  to  M.  Laboulaye,  that 
the  overthrow  of  the  Empire,  though  it  necessarily  hu- 
miliated France,  gave  to  himself  a  prominence  in  public 
affairs  for  which  he  had  sighed  in  vain  under  the  empire. 
Not  only  was  he  chosen  a  member  of  the  new  assembly 
in  1871,  and  made  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  reor- 
ganization of  Public  Instruction  in  France,  but  in  1873  ne 
was  appointed  Director  of  the  College  of  France,  and  sub- 
sequently elevated  to  the  highly  remunerative  dignity  of 
senator  for  life.  He  filled  the  position  of  a  representa- 
tive always  with  dignity  and  ability,  but  he  never  became 
the  focus  of  any  considerable  popular  influence.  His 
standards  were  for  the  most  part  too  high  for  effective 
partisanship.  Though  imbued  with  liberal  opinions,  he 
was  too  exclusively  in  sympathy  with  the  comparatively 
restricted  class  with  which,  in  books  or  in  society,  he  had 
always  lived,  and  among  whom  he  had  always  found  his 
models.  His  health,  too,  was  always  delicate — a  circum- 
stance which  aided  to  diminish  his  by  no  means  numer- 
ous points  of  contact  with  the  world  at  large. 


VII. 


I^aboulaye's  Views  of  Gambetta — Of  Other  Dynastic  Pretenders— 
— Could  Reconcile  Himself  to  No  Other  than  the  American  Con- 
stitution for  France  —  His  Character  —  L,ist  of  His  Writings. 

I  NEVER  saw  M.  I/aboulaye  again  but  once.  Being 
casually  in  Paris  for  a  few  days  in  September,  1872, 
I  went  out  to  Glatigny  to  call  upon  him.  He  had  just 
risen  from  breakfast,  and  we  strolled  together  through 
the  garden  for  an  hour  or  more.  He  did  not  seem  in 
good  spirits,  nor  satisfied  with  the  way  the  world  had 
been  using  France  or  himself.  He  seemed  anxious  to  dis- 
cuss with  me  the  political  situation  of  his  country,  but 
his  conversation,  from  the  beginning,  betrayed  the  man 
who  was  taking  counsel  of  his  feelings  rather  than  of  his 
judgment.  Nothing  had  turned  out  exactly  as  he  had 
predicted  in  his  correspondence,  and  my  presence  put 
him  entirely  on  the  defensive.  He  said  the  future  of 
France  lay  between  Gambetta  and  the  late  Emperor.  He 
thought  Gambetta  would  prevail  for  a  while,  but  he 
would  not  last,  and  his  government,  if  he  should  accept 

power 


7AMBSTTA.  73 

power,  would  soon  be  succeeded  by  the  Empire  again. 
He  then  broke  out  into  an  elaborate  invective  against 
Gambetta  himself,  which,  I  having  already  some  ac- 
quaintance with  this  famous  tribune  of  the  people  and 
having  spent  a  couple  of  hours  with  him  only  two  days 
before,  discussing  the  same  topics,  struck  me  as  being 
both  undiscriminating,  indiscreet,  and  unjust.  He  said 
Gambetta  was  an  ignoramus  ;  that  he  was  no  statesman  ; 
that  he  wanted  a  republic  without  a  constitution,  because 
he  wished  to  be  at  its  head,  and  to  have  no  restrictions 
upon  his  power  ; '  that  he  had  no  idea  of  a  government 
that  was  practicable,  or  of  a  popular  government  that 
could  endure.  He  spoke  of  him  as  I  had  heard  him 
spoken  of  by  Imperialists  and  Ultramontanists,  and  as 
the  same  classes  are  accustomed  nowadays  to  speak 
of  M.  Bismarck.  When  he  had  finished  his  indict- 
ment, I  asked  him  if  Gambetta  was  not  on  the  whole 
the  greatest  single  political  force  in  France ;  if  there  was 
any  other  man  in  the  nation  who  wielded  as  much  politi- 
cal influence.  He  answered  promptly  that  there  was  not. 
"  But,"  said  I,  "  there  are  always  a  great  many  clever 
men,  very  clever  men  in  France  ;  how  do  you  explain 
this  extraordinary  preference  for  Gambetta,  if  he  is  the 
sort  of  man  you  describe?  "  He  replied  that  Gambetta 
was  the  only  man  in  France  except  Theirs  that  since  the 
war  was  universally  known.  His  name  signed  to  all  the 
decrees  of  the  provisional  government  had  made  it  famil- 

1  It  is  a  significant  commen-       was  defeated  was  subsequently 
tary  upon  this  objurgation  of  La-       the   shibboleth  of  the  faction, 
boulaye,  that  the  question  upon       that  defeated  him. 
which  the  Gambetta   ministry 

iar 


74  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

iar  to  every  Frenchman.  The  notoriety  thus  obtained 
had  given  him  the  same  advantage  as  an  agitator  that  the 
late  emperor  had  inherited  with  the  name  of  Napoleon. 

M.  Laboulaye  did  not  see  how  very  unsatisfactory  was 
this  explanation  ;  how  it  failed  to  account  for  the  fact 
that  while  this  obscure  attorney  was  lifted  to  the  head  of 
the  provisional  government,  issuing  its  decrees  and  trav- 
elling in  balloons  at  the  imminent  peril  of  his  life  to 
maintain  communications  between  the  different  armies 
and  provinces  of  France  and  the  central  government,  M. 
Laboulaye,  with  all  the  prestige  and  notoriety  of  a  pro- 
fessor at  the  College  of  France  of  twenty-five  years'  stand- 
ing, was  permitted  to  live  in  idleness  and  obscurity  on 
the  coast  of  Normandy. 

I  alluded  to  the  other  dynastic  pretenders.  He  spoke 
slightingly,  even  contemptuously,  of  them  all.  He  did 
not  consider  the  chance  of  any  one  of  them  coming  to 
power  in  France  worth  discussing.  He  then  went  back 
again  to  Gambetta,  and  while  admitting  that  he  had  the 
largest  following,  took  care  to  add  that  it  consisted  of  the 
most  miserable  creatures  in  France :  the  dregs  of  the  pop- 
ulation, the  desperate  classes,  etc.  He  then  proceeded  to 
say  that  he  thought  the  return  of  Bonaparte  not  at  all 
improbable,  nor  under  the  circumstances  to  be  regretted. 
The  choice  lying  between  the  despotism  of  a  mob  led  by 
Gambetta  and  the  despotism  of  a  soldiery  led  by  Bona- 
parte, he  could  not  disguise  his  preference  for  the  latter. 
He  was  still,  unconsciously  to  himself,  defending  his 
vote  for  the  plebiscite. 

M.  Laboulaye  had,  in  the  proportion  of  his  talents,  the 
usual  disqualification  of  the  student,  for  public  life.  He 

had 


AN  AMERICAN  CONSTITUTION  OR  IMPERIALISM. 


75 


had  studied  politics  in  the  closet,  he  had  taught  politics  to 
young  men  from  the  professor's  chair ;  he  had  never  sat 
in  a  representative  body  until  within  a  few  months,  and 
then  too  late  in  life  to  represent  any  one's  opinions  but 
his  own ;  he  had  no  idea  of  becoming  the  resultant  of 
the  varied  political  forces  of  a  community  which  chose 
him  to  represent  them,  but  was  anchored  by  his  preju- 
dices or  prepossessions  in  a  stream  which  was  rush- 
ing by  him  like  a  mill  tail,  and  to  which  he  scorned  to 
make  any  concession.  Then  he  had  preached  the  peculi- 
arities of  the  American  constitution  and  its  two  legislative 
chambers  to  his  classes  so  long  and  so  unreservedly  that 
he  had  got  his  mind  in  such  a  state  that  he  could  not 
accept  nor  even  patiently  consider  any  other  issue  out  of 
the  political  troubles  of  his  country.  The  fact  that  very  few 
people  in  France  knew  any  thing  about  our  constitution 
or  about  the  working  processes  of  a  popular  government ; 
the  fact  that  the  reasons  by  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
commending  our  constitution  to  his  pupils  would  have 
been  perfectly  unintelligible  to  nine  tenths  of  the  people 
of  France,  made  no  difference  with  him.  If  he  could  not 
have  a  constitution  according  to  his  ideal,  he  saw  no  bet- 
ter alternative  than  the  Empire  again  and  despotism.1 


1  When  Laboulaye  resumed  his 
chair  at  the  College  of  France 
in  1877,  he  took  for  his  theme, 
"  Constitutional  Law,  "  Droit 
Constilutionnel,  mainly,  as  I 
think,  to  degambettize  his 
countrymen  of  what  he  regarded 
as  their  delusions  about  consti- 
tutional guaranties.  Constitu- 


tions, he  there  insisted,  had  two 
functions  :  (i)  providing  for  the 
organization  of  the  public  pow- 
ers and  their  relations  with  each 
other  :  (2)  guaranteeing  the  pub- 
lic liberties.  He  said  the  French 
constitution  of  1875  provided  for 
the  first,  but  not  for  the  second. 
Hence  the  question  :  Is  the  au- 
thority 


76  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

Because  Gambetta  was  content  to  give  Prance  the  best 
securities  that  he  could,  rather  than  such  as  he  would ; 
the  fact  that  he  took  his  political  inspirations  from  the 
people  at  large  rather  than  from  the  learned  members 
of  the  Academy,  seemed  to  M.  Laboulaye  not  an  evidence 
of  broad  statesmanship  nor  of  political  sagacity,  but  of 
low  tastes  and  degrading  purposes.  He  insisted  that  an- 
other thirty  years'  war  was  impending  ;  that  France  had 
no  frontier,  and  could  neither  do  any  thing  nor  be  any 
thing  till  she  had.  I  remarked  that  I  thought  President 
Theirs  was  making  a  mistake  in  paying  off  the  German 
debt  so  rapidly.  "  Until  that  is  paid,"  he  replied,  "  the 
Germans  will  not  leave  our  territory ;  until  they  leave 
our  territory  we  cannot  fortify  our  frontiers,  and  until  our 
frontiers  are  fortified  we  have  no  country."  I  tried  to 
make  him  take  a  less  gloomy  view  of  France  and  of  her 
future,  but  I  do  not  think  I  was  very  successful.  He 
rather  cultivated  his  despondency,  and  did  not  seem  to 
wish  it  cured. 

I  took  my  leave  of  him,  not  without  emotion.  Besides 
so  much  in  his  talents  and  character  to  admire,  he  had 
been  to  us  Americans  a  most  timely  and  useful  friend.  In 
what  he  did  for  us,  let  me  add,  I  never  saw  the  trace  of  an 
ignoble  or  selfish  motive.  This,  too,  at  a  time  when 
motives  the  most  selfish  and  ignoble  ruled  in  court  and 
camp  throughout  Europe,  and  when  a  price  of  some  sort 
was  placed  upon  every  service  of  which  we  had  need. 

thority  of  a  constitution  or  of  the  constitution  should  be  su- 
those  who  make  it,  absolute,  or  preme  and  absolute  as  the  high- 
has  the  individual  still  rights  re-  est  and  most  solemn  expression 
served?  I<aboulaye  insisted  that  of  the  sovereign  will. 

This 


HIS  DEA  TH.  77 

This  in  itself  was  a  great  distinction,  and  disposed  me  to 
judge  with  diffidence  and  with  charity  any  of  his  actions 
or  opinions  that  failed  to  commend  themselves  to  my 
judgment. 

I  never  saw  M.  Laboulaye  again.  He  died  in  the  month 
of  September,  1882.'  He  did  not  live  to  see  the  emperor 
restored,  nor  a  thirty  years'  war  begun,  nor  the  new  con- 
stitution upon  which  his  heart  was  so  firmly  fixed, 
adopted  by  his  countrymen,  but  he  did  live  to  see  the 
Gatnbetta  he  despised,  recognized  by  Europe  generally  as 
the  most  conservative  and  sagacious  statesman  in  France  ; 
he  did  live  to  see  the  emperor  and  his  only  son  cease  to 
be  factors  in  the  politics  of  this  world  ;  and  he  lived  to  see 
the  Napoleonic  legend,  once  the  insane  root  of  which  no 
Frenchman  could  partake  and  preserve  his  reason,  be- 
come in  France  almost  the  synonym  for  fatuous  selfish- 
ness and  brigandage,  and  finally  he  lived. to  see  the 
republic  in  which  he  had  so  little  faith,  attain  a  longer 
life  than  the  average  of  the  governments  with  which 
France  had  been  afflicted  for  the  previous  200  years. 

Laboulaye  was  a  man  of  most  exemplary  character  and 
life.  He  had  no  frailties  for  which  his  friends  had  to 
apologize.  His  name  was  never  associated  with  any 
cause,  business,  or  enterprise  which  did  not  reflect  back 
upon  him  faithfully  all  the  dignity  he  conferred  upon  it. 
Hence  his  name  and  pen  were  often  in  demand  and  freely 
bestowed  for  the  promotion  of  works  of  beneficence. 
Though  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life  so  much  of  an 
invalid  as  to  partake  but  with  great  caution  of  the 
pleasures  of  the  table  or  of  general  society,  he  was  so 
1  Laboulaye  was  born  in  1811. 

industrious 


78  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

industrious  and  so  systematic  that  he  accomplished  a 
prodigious  amount  of  literary  work. 

The  reader  may  form  some  notion  of  its  amount  and 
quality  from  the  annexed  list  of  his  writings — enough  to 
appal  a  Benedictine — which  remain  to  testify  of  his  learn- 
ing, his  talents,  and  his  usefulness. 

The  notes  alone  which  he  made  for  his  lectures  fill 
about  thirty  volumes. 

In  the  course  of  our  history  as  a  nation  we  have  been 
greatly  beholden  to  many  citizens  of  the  old  world  for 
important  services,  to  some  of  whom  we  cannot  help 
feeling  that  we  owe  more  gratitude  than  respect,  but  there 
have  been  three  Frenchmen  whose  names  are  so  inti- 
mately and  so  honorably  associated  with  the  two  most 
critical  periods  of  our  national  history,  and  who  were  so 
eminent  for  their  virtues,  as  well  as  for  their  services,  that 
they  should  never  be  pronounced  by  any  American  with- 
out emotions  of  respect  as  well  as  gratitude.  Those  names 
are  Lafayette,  Berryer,  and  1/aboulaye. 

UST   OF    THF,    PRINCIPAL    PUBLISHED    WRITINGS    OF 
ItABOUIyAYE. 

La  chaire  d'histoire  du  droit  et  le  concours.  In-8  de  38 
pp.  (Extrait  de  la  Revue  de  Legislation.} 

Considerations  sur  la  Constitution.  1848,  in-12.  (Ex- 
trait  de  la  Revue  de  Legislation.} 

Contes  bleus,  dessins,  par  Yan'  Dargent.  1864,  in-8, 
fig.  et  vignettes. 

Droit  franjais.  Des  obligations  qui  naissent  du  ma- 
riage,  des  droits  et  des  devoirs  respectifs  des  e"poux.  1866, 
in-8  de  78  pp. 

De 


PUBLISHED   WRITINGS.  79 

De  PEglise  catholique  et  de  1'Etat.  1845,  in-8  de  35 
pp.  (Extrait  de  la  Revue  de  Legislation  et  de  Juris- 
prudence. ) 

De  Penseignement  du  droit  en  France  et  des  reTormes 
dont  il  a  besoin.  1839,  in-8  de  70  pp. 

Essais  sur  les  Lois  criminelles  des  Remains  concernant 
la  responsabilite'  des  magistrats.  1845,  in-8. 

Etudes  contemporaines  sur  PAllemagne  et  les  pays 
Slaves.  1856,  in-12. 

Etudes  sur  la  propriete  litteraire  en  France  et  en  Angle- 
terre,  suivies  des  trois  discours  prononce"s  au  Parlement 
d' Angleterre,  par  sir  T.  Noon  Talfourd,  traduits  de  1' anglais 
par  M.  Ed.  Laboulaye.  1858,  in-8. 

Histoire  politique  des  Etats-Unis,  depuis  les  premiers 
essais  de  colonisation  jusqu'a  1'adoption  de  la  Constitu- 
tion fede"rale,  1620-1789.  1855-1866,  3  vol.  in-8. 

Histoire  des  Etats-Unis.  Paris,  Charpentier,  1868, 
in-i2. 

Questions  constitutional  les.  Paris,  Charpentier,  1872, 
in-12. 

Considerations  sur  la  Constitution. — Le  droit  de  re- 
vision.— Le  Plebiscite  de  1870. — La  Re"publique  constitu- 
tionnelle. — La  Question  des  deux  Chambres. — Du  Pouvoir 
constituaut. — De  la  Souveraiuete". — Separation  de  1'Eglise 
et  de  1'Etat. 

These  pour  la  licence :  Des  servitudes.  Paris,  Rignoux, 
1833,  in-8  de  25  pp. 

Des  Impositions  de  la  Gaule  dans  les  derniers  temps  de 
PEmpire  remain,  par  le  chevalier  Charles  Baudi  di  Vesme, 
traduit  de  Pitalien  par  Ed.  Laboulaye,  68  pp. 

Travaux 


80  EDOUARD  LABOULAYE. 

Travaux  sur  1'histoire  du  Droit  francais  d'Henri  Klim- 
rath,  compte  rendu  par  M.  Ed.  Laboulaye,  13  pp. 

De  1'EgHse  et  de  1'Etat,  a  1'occasion  des  attaques 
dingoes  centre  les  articles  organiques  du  Concordat  de 
1801.  1845,  55  pp. 

Quelques  Reflexions  sur  1'enseignement  du  Droit  en 
France,  a  1'occasion  des  r£ponses  faites  par  les  Facultds 
proposers  par  le  ministre  de  Pinstruction  publique,  82  pp. 

De  1'Bnseignement  et  du  Noviciat  administratif  en 
Allemagne.  1843,  99  pp. 

Histoire  de  la  procedure  civile  chez  les  Remains  par 
Ferd.  Walter,  traduite  de  1'Allemand  par  Ed.  Laboulaye. 
Paris,  1841. 

Stance  publique  annuelle  des  cinq  Academies  du  Ven- 
dredi,  25  Oct.,  1878.  Discours  de  M.  Ed.  Laboulaye. 

3725. — Channing.  CEjuvres  sociales,  traduction  fran- 
caise  pre'cede'e  d'un  essai  sur  sa  vie  et  sa  doctrine,  par  M. 
Edouard  Laboulaye.  Paris,  Charpentier,  1869,  i  vol. — 
Trait£s  religieux,  pr£c£des  d'une  introduction  par  M. 
Edouard  Laboulaye.  Paris,  Lacroix,  1857,  i  vol. 

Chotteau  (I/.)-  La  Guerre  de  1'Ind^pendance,  1775- 
1783.  Les  Francais  les  Am^rique  avec  une  preface  par 
M.  Ed.  Laboulaye.  Paris,  1876. 

4084. — Proprie'te'  (la)  litt£raire  au  xviiie  si^cle,  recueil 
de  pieces  et  documents,  publid  par  le  comite1  de  1'associa- 
tion  pour  la  defense  de  la  propri^td  litte"raire  et  artistique, 
avec  une  introduction  par  MM.  Ed.  Laboulaye  et  G. 
Guifirey.  Paris,  L.  Hachette,  1859,  in-8,  demi-rel.  v.  f. 
e'barbe'. 

Histoire 


PUBLISHED    WRITINGS.  8 1 

Histoire  du  droit  de  propriety  fonciere  en  Europe  de- 
puis  Constantin  jusqu'a  nos  jours.  8vo.  Paris.  (1839.) 

Essai  sur  la  vie  et  les  doctrines  de  Frederic  Charles  de 
Savigny.  (1842.) 

Recherches  sur  la  condition  civile  et  politique  des 
femmes  depuis  les  Remains  jusqu'a  nos  jours.  (1843.) 

L'Etat  et  ses  Limites.     (1863.) 

Paris  en  AmeYique.     (1863.) 

Les  Me'moires  et  la  Correspondance  de  Franklin. 
(1866.) 

Lettres  Politiques.     (1872.) 

Dupin  et  Ed.  Laboulaye.  Glossaire  de  1'ancien  Droit 
fran£ais  contenant  1'explication  des  mots  vieillis  ou  hors 
d'usage.  Paris,  1846,  in-i2. 

Revue  historique  de  droit  francais  et  dtranger,  publi£e 
sous  la  direction  de  MM.  Ed.  Laboulaye,  R.  Dareste,  E. 
de  Roziere,  C.  Ginouilhiac.  Paris,  1855-1869,  15  vol. 
in-8. 

Revue  de  legislation  ancienne  et  moderne  francaise  et 
e"traugere,  publi£e  sous  la  direction  de  MM.  Ed.  Labou- 
laye, Eug.  de  Roziere,  P.  Gide,  Rod.  Dareste,  Gust. 
Boissonade,  J.  Flach.  Paris,  1877,  a  Avril,  1883. 

Claude  Fleury.  Institution  au  droit  francais,  publi£e 
par  M.  Ed.  Laboulaye  et  M.  Rod.  Dareste.  Paris,  1858, 
2  vol. 

Catherinot.  Les  axiomes  du  droit  francais  avec  une 
notice  sur  la  vie  et  les  ecrits  de  1'auteur  par  Ed.  Labou- 
laye, &c.  Paris,  1883,  in-8. 


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